NEW YORK, NY – A Manhattan man has been arrested and charged in connection with a fatal collision that killed a construction worker on the Washington Bridge last year.
Jesus Juarez, 36, of West 161st Street, was taken into custody Tuesday morning by officers in the 5th Precinct.
He faces charges of reckless driving, failure to yield to a pedestrian or bicyclist, and failure to exercise due care causing serious physical injury.
The arrest stems from a crash that occurred on the night of August 2, 2024, when police responded to reports of a pedestrian struck on the Washington Bridge near Amsterdam Avenue within the 34th Precinct.
Officers arrived to find 41-year-old construction worker Herb Henry Alesna lying on the roadway with severe trauma. Emergency medical personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.
Crash involved multiple vehicles on Washington Bridge
An NYPD investigation determined that a 2018 Dodge Durango driven by Juarez was traveling westbound on the bridge when it changed lanes and collided with a 2015 Toyota Highlander. The impact caused the Dodge to veer back into the right lane, where it hit a parked 2010 International construction truck.
Investigators said Alesna, who was standing outside the parked vehicle, was struck by the Dodge during the collision. Both Juarez and the Toyota’s 36-year-old driver remained at the scene and were not injured.
Charges follow more than a year of investigation
The NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad conducted a lengthy review of the incident, gathering evidence and reconstructing the crash before determining criminal charges were warranted.
Juarez’s arrest comes more than a year after the fatal crash that claimed Alesna’s life and left fellow workers stunned at the construction site.
Alesna, 41, lived in Maspeth, Queens, and was identified shortly after the crash by police.
Juarez is expected to appear in court in Manhattan to face the charges.
Authorities charged a Manhattan man in a fatal 2024 Washington Bridge crash that killed a construction worker.