Trash truck hits 15 cars; driver fl ees after
totaling eight vehicles, damaging others
Serrano (l) with Diaz (r) during a protest of the Mott Haven jail.
Schneps Media/Alex Mitchell
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, MARCH 2 BTR 9-APRIL 4, 2019 73
From page 1
The garbage truck rammed several cars along Hone Avenue between Rhinelander and Morris
Park avenues. Photo courtesy of Michael Kaess
Cops are looking for Manuel Matias in connection
with a reckless driving assault incident
in Morris Park. Photo courtesy of NYPD
Police and FDNY responded to the scene. Photo courtesy of Michael Kaess
Congressman Serrano, ailing,
will not seek re-election in 2020
From page 1
tice, Science Subcommittee to fi ght for
climate change research, a fairer justice
system, and an accurate 2020 Census
count,” Serrano said.
For almost a year now, Serrano has
joined forces with Borough President
Ruben Diaz, Jr. in advocating against
the mayor’s plan to construct a jail at
320 Concord Avenue in Mott Haven.
Doing so through ‘Justice for the
Bronx,’ a community led coalition to
stop the Mott Haven jail.
During a town hall regarding the
jail, he assured his Mott Haven constituency
that even though he can’t
control the city’s actions he could still
“make it very hard for them to do so.”
Upon hearing of the surprise announcement,
Diaz immediately commended
Serrano’s voluminous work,
saying it has “left an indelible mark in
the Bronx.”
Serrano refl ected on some of those
indelible marks he’s credited with as
well, stating “I am extremely proud of
the work we did to revitalize the Bronx
River, to bring billions of federal dollars
to our borough, to expand access
to the ballot for language minorities, to
increase STEM resources for minority
students,” the two-year Army Medical
Corps veteran said, mentioning other
foreign policy victories he and others
had achieved on Capitol Hill.
One of his Bronx colleagues on
Capitol Hill, Adriano Espaillat, also
shared some kind words upon hearing
the shocking news.
“Serrano welcomed me to Washington
with grace and has consistently
been a mentor, friend and an ally
through our collective fi ght to ensure
immigrant rights, fairness and equal
access to opportunities for all residents
and families,” Espaillat said.
A week before Serrano’s surprise
announcement, Ritchie Torres, a
Bronx councilman for the last fi ve plus
years, fi led paperwork to mount a primary
challenge against the ailing congressman
in 2020.
“There will be a time and place to
discuss politics in the near future but
today I want to thank him for being a
trailblazer in Latinx politics,” Torres
said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Serrano’s son, Senator
Jose M. Serrano said he woulnd’t be
trading his state work for a chance at
Congress mainly due to travel implacatons
and time spent away from his
family.
Upon the news, Congressman Serrano
also refl ected on his successful
journey from Puerto Rico to Washington
DC.
“To have gone from Mayaguez
(Puerto Rico), to Mill Brook Houses,
to the New York State Assembly, to the
halls of Congress is truly the American
Dream. I am honored to have had
your trust over the years,” the congressman
concluded.
cident, the PSI truck was been driving
erratically minutes before the Hone Avenue
incident. He mentioned the truck
knocked down a business awning a
short time earlier.
As of press time, the investigation
remains ongoing, said an NYPD spokesman.
The Morris Park Community Association’s
president, Al D’Angleo, said
that he heard rumors that the crash
may have been related to a dispute between
two rival sanitation companies,
something that was mentioned in some
published reports.
D’Angelo said that his primary concern
was safety in the community.
“To have people (driving garbage
trucks) running rampant up and down
the neighborhood is a problem,” said
D’Angleo. “What if someone was out
there and got hit by the truck?”
D’Angelo categorized the incident as
‘a disaster’ that caused a large amount
of property damage.
He said that the misguided truck
knocked over a tree and left car glass all
over the roadway.
Michael Kaess, who lives on the
block, said he and his wife were awake
and heard a grinding noise as the truck
started to slam into the parked vehicles.
At fi rst, he said he dismissed the
noise because he said it did not sound
like an auto accident, but when he
looked out his window after a signifi -
cant amount of time had elapsed, he saw
a scene of carnage.
“All my neighbors were out in the
street,” said Kaess. “There was a feeling
of dumbfoundedness about what had
just happened.”
He added: “People are really attached
to their cars.”
Kaess said that based on his understanding,
between six to eight were totaled.
Others had minor damage.
As police and fi re department personnel
arrived on the scene, Kaess said
that he checked his home’s security
cameras and found that he had footage
of a truck fi rst striking the parked cars,
followed by the driver exiting the vehicle.
Calls to Falso Carting Company and
Paper Services Inc were not returned
before press time.