Kelvin Mitchell, a 43-year-old father of three, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in the Bronx on May 10. According to a report on Streetsblog.org, the fatal pedestrian accident occurred on Webster Avenue between East 168th and 169th streets during the early morning hours. The force of the impact with the speeding vehicle sent the pedestrian airborne before he was dragged 100 feet from the bodega he had just left, the report said. We offer our deepest condolences to the family of Kevin Mitchell for their tragic and heartbreaking loss.
Ongoing Investigation
Streetsblog also reports that just before the crash, a police van was in pursuit of the speeding vehicle that hit the victim. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene. Mitchell’s family is questioning whether the collision occurred during a police pursuit. A new NYPD policy on vehicular pursuits allows a chase only for the most serious and violent crimes such as felonies or violent misdemeanors.
The policy also discourages pursuits in residential communities or near schools and playgrounds — where, Streetsblog reports — this fatal crash occurred. The investigation into this hit-and-run collision is still ongoing as police look for the driver who left the scene of the crash.
Compensation for a Hit-and-Run Collision
In New York City, a hit-and-run is a serious criminal offense under both state and city law. A hit-and-run occurs when a driver involved in a motor vehicle accident leaves the scene without stopping to provide contact information, assist injured parties, or report the incident to law enforcement. Under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 600, leaving the scene of an accident without reporting can result in misdemeanor or felony charges, depending on the severity of the incident. Drivers are legally required to stop immediately, exchange information, and call the police if necessary.
In a hit-and-run collision, the driver and vehicle owner are both responsible parties even if the owner was not driving when the accident occurred. If the driver was on the job and/or operating a company vehicle at the time, his or her employer can also be held liable. When the driver is apprehended in a hit-and-run case, he or she can be held financially liable for the injuries, damages and losses caused. We recovered two million dollars in a hit-and-run accident.
Such drivers can be held financially responsible whether or not they are arrested and/or charged. If a hit-and-run driver has injured you, please remember that you can seek compensation through the uninsured motorist clause of your auto insurance policy (even though the driver has not been identified) or through a quasi-state agency if there is no motor vehicle in the victim’s household. You should consult a personal injury lawyer immediately to protect your rights.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in a pedestrian accident, or if you have lost a loved one in an auto accident caused by a negligent (careless) driver, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Pedestrian accident victims and their families should remember that they can seek compensation for injuries or losses in collisions even if the victim was not walking in a marked crosswalk and even if the driver involved in collision was not charged. Our law firm recovered the full one-million-dollar insurance policy for a girl who was not in the crosswalk when a motor vehicle hit her.
For over 53 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and $2,000,000 in a hit-and-run accident, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole.
We also obtained $295,000 out of a $300,000 insurance policy in compensation for the victim of a bicycle dooring accident (where a car door opens into the path of a bicyclist). Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/05/14/police-chase-linked-to-fatal-hit-and-run-in-bronx