Man, 21, charged with vehicular manslaughter, DWI in Bronx highway crash that killed 2

Police have arrested and charged a man with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated in a multivehicle crash on a Bronx highway that killed two people early Monday.

NYPD officials said 21-year-old White Plains resident Mauricio Neyra Yuyes was drunk driving a 2019 Mercedes Benz around 1 a.m. Monday on the Bronx River Parkway when he tried passing a 2015 Volkswagen GTI heading southbound near East 223rd Street. Neyra Yuyes allegedly hit the other car, sending it into a guardrail, and then struck two 2023 Taizhou motorcycles traveling side by side in the right lane.

Police said the motorcycle riders were both thrown onto the road and were later pronounced dead at local hospitals. Officials identified them as Bronx residents Manuel Amarantepenalo, 19, and Enrique Martinez, 21.

The Volkswagen driver refused medical attention at the scene, according to police. The highway was temporarily closed to southbound traffic near Exit 9 at Gun Hill Road, officials said.

According to a criminal complaint from the Bronx district attorney’s office, Neyra Yuyes had a “strong odor” of alcohol on his breath after the crash and was standing unsteadily near his car. He also refused a chemical test of his blood at a local hospital, prosecutors said.

Neyra Yuyes was arrested around 8:30 a.m. Monday, and a Bronx Criminal Court judge released him awaiting trial Tuesday morning, according to the DA. His lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

This story is based on preliminary information from police and has been updated with additional details.