Arrest Made In Fatal Union Square Hit-And-Run

UNION SQUARE, NY — Police arrested a Brooklyn man on Tuesday nearly two months after a deadly hit-and-run collision near Union Square, authorities said.

Officers arrested 23-year-old Xavier Ward and charged him with multiple crimes in connection with the fatal Nov. 14 collision.

Adrian Blanc, 34, was fatally injured in the crash as he was trying to cross East 14th Street near Union Square East and was struck by Ward in an SUV, according to police.

Shocking surveillance video footage shows the car plowing over Blanc as he stood in the crosswalk. The collision happened at about 1 a.m. on Nov. 14.

The footage shows the car, which police said was a 2016 Jeep Renegade, making an abrupt left turn from 14th Street to head north of Union Square East. It barrels over Blanc, who can be seen standing in the crosswalk.

The video shows Blanc left injured in the crosswalk. Police said Ward briefly stopped the car before driving away. He never left the vehicle, authorities said.

Patch was unable to locate a defense attorney for Ward on Wednesday morning. Ward was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and aggravated, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, an NYPD spokesman said.

Blanc lived in Brooklyn and was an executive chef for the Murray Hill restaurant Hill & Bay.

Image credit: Screenshot via NYPD surveillance footage