Bronx River Parkway: two riders down, a system on idle

Precinct 52: Jan 1, 2022 - Aug 25, 2025

Two men died before dawn on the Bronx River Parkway. Police say a 21‑year‑old in a Mercedes tried to pass, hit a Volkswagen, then struck two motorcycles. Both riders, Manuel Amarantepenalo, 19, and Enrique Martinez, 21, were thrown and died at the hospital, according to Gothamist. Prosecutors charged the driver with vehicular manslaughter and DWI, Gothamist reported.

“Two people were killed. He was drunk,” the victim’s sister said outside court, quoted by the Daily News. “How could they let him go?” their mother asked, the Daily News reported. The highway shut near Gun Hill as police worked the scene, said Gothamist.

CBS said simply: “Two men on motorcycles were killed in the crash overnight” on the parkway by East Gun Hill Road (CBS New York).

Nights in the 52nd: the hours that kill

In Precinct 52, deaths pile up at night. From midnight to 5 a.m., seven people were killed and hundreds injured, with spikes at midnight and 5 a.m., per city data (NYC Open Data). The Bronx River Parkway is a top hotspot here, with two deaths and more than a hundred injuries. The Major Deegan follows.

The bodies tell the story: pedestrians, cyclists, riders, passengers. In this precinct since 2022, pedestrians suffered 371 injuries and three deaths; cyclists 115 injuries; riders of other small motorized devices 59 injuries; vehicle occupants eight deaths and 1,525 injuries (NYC Open Data). Heavy vehicles are not the bulk; cars and SUVs drive most pedestrian injuries here (NYC Open Data).

What keeps breaking here

“Other” is the leading listed factor in the precinct’s injury and death toll, with five deaths tied to it. Vulnerable road user error appears in the data too, but the worst damage tracks the hours, the speed, and the corridors (NYC Open Data). Unsafe speed shows up in the ledger. Failure to yield maims people on side streets. Distraction is there as well.

On West Kingsbridge and University, a 65‑year‑old crossing with the signal was hit and killed by a turning van, police records say (CrashID 4801942). On Mosholu at Bainbridge, a moped rider died after a collision with a BMW sedan (CrashID 4692380). The dates change. The pattern does not.

Fix the corners. Tame the nights.

Start with the hotspots. Daylight crossings and harden turns on West Fordham Road and Jerome Avenue. Give leading pedestrian intervals at University and Kingsbridge. Clamp down on night speeding on the Bronx River Parkway and the Major Deegan with targeted operations tied to the midnight–5 a.m. window the data flags, and repeat them at the same places each week (NYC Open Data).

These are simple moves. They protect people outside the car first.

Citywide levers that save lives here

Lower speeds save lives. New York has the power to set safer limits. Advocates urge the city to drop the default to 20 mph. You can press your officials now (Take Action).

The worst repeat speeders do outsized harm. The proposed Stop Super Speeders Act would force drivers with extreme ticket histories or points to use tech that caps speed. Safe‑streets groups are calling lawmakers to move it. Tell yours to back it (Take Action).

The families wait

“Two people were killed,” the sister said. “He was drunk.” The words hang there, in a courthouse hallway, and on a road where engines never sleep (Daily News).