Police arrested an alleged drunk driver who fled the scene of a deadly crash that killed a 22-year-old man in the Bronx early Sunday morning.
NYPD officers slapped cuffs on 25-year-old Adam Vilajeti on Feb. 4, accusing him of striking the pedestrian victim with his car at around 4 a.m. while under the influence of alcohol, before attempting to drive off.
According to the investigation, Vilajeti was behind the wheel of his 2019 Mercedes Benz when he hit Cordero Cordero Wilbert De Jesus on White Plains Road near Archer Street.
After the initial collision, Wilbert De Jesus was thrown into the other side of the roadway, where he was then hit by the driver of a 2017 BMW.
Paramedics arrived on the scene and rushed the victim to NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, where doctors pronounced him dead.
The location of the fatal crash was just steps away from Wilbert De Jesus’ home in the Bronx.
Meanwhile, after striking him, Vilajeti allegedly drove off without — declining to check on the victim and wait for authorities to arrive.
His getaway was short lived, however, as police tracked down Vilajeti three hours later and administered a breathalyzer test, which showed a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above the legal limit.
Authorities arrested Vilajeti on charges of driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an incident.
So far this year, there have been at least nine pedestrians killed in traffic-related incidents, which comes after the Big Apple was 103 pedestrians that died from car crashes in 2023, according to the data-tracking site Crashmapper.
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