Arrest Made in Fatal Hit-and-Run Investigation

CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – On December 31, 2023, at approximately 2:32 a.m., members of the New York State Police and Croton Police, Fire, and EMS Departments were dispatched to a report of a pedestrian lying in the roadway on Route 9 North just South of the Croton Point Avenue exit.  The unresponsive, unidentified male was transported to Westchester County Medical Center in Valhalla, NY, where he was pronounced deceased.  Preliminary investigation by responding officers indicated that the pedestrian was struck by a vehicle that left the scene.  Fragments of the unidentified vehicle, including a front grille side cover, were scattered throughout the roadway.

The Croton Police Department was assisted by the Westchester County Department of Public Safety Accident Investigation Unit.  Route 9 was closed for approximately five hours while the accident investigation was conducted.

Within sixteen hours of the incident, using the pieces of the vehicle that were found in the roadway, the Croton Police Department identified the vehicle and driver involved in the accident.  The driver, a resident of Newark, NJ, was arrested and charged with violating New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law section 600-2A – Leaving the Scene of a Fatal Motor Vehicle Accident, a class D-felony. 

The victim, a resident of Peekskill, NY, was later identified with the assistance of the FBI.