DUI Driver Hits, Kills Man Before Crashing On FDR Drive: Police

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A suspected intoxicated driver struck and killed a 29-year-old man walking near the FDR Drive, then fled along the highway before crashing his car about a mile north, police said.

The crash happened around 10:16 p.m., as the victim tried to walk across the service road in front of the 30 Waterside Plaza apartment building, which runs parallel to the highway.

Police believe the man was hit by 23-year-old Jonathan S. Sutherland, a Queens resident driving a black Honda Accord. Sutherland then fled north along the FDR Drive, police said.

Responding to a 911 call, police found the victim lying unconscious on the roadway with head trauma. He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The man's name has not been released, pending family notification.

About 20 minutes later, police received another 911 call about a collision on the northbound side of the FDR, near East 53rd Street — nearly 30 blocks north of the first crash. Officers found the same Honda Accord, damaged, with the suspect inside.

Sutherland was arrested and charged with two counts of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault, leaving the scene of an accident and refusal to take a breath test, police said. He was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center after his arrest for unspecified injuries.

The NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad is still investigating the crashes.

Before Tuesday's crash, three pedestrians had been injured in crashes on Waterside Plaza since 2012, according to Vision Zero data. Along the FDR Drive, 2,831 people have been injured in crashes during that span, including 20 pedestrians, five cyclists and 2,804 drivers.

Nine people have been killed along the FDR since 2012, not including Tuesday's victim — including three pedestrians and six drivers.