Unlicensed driver arrested in chain-reaction crash that killed beloved Bronx football coach
Sheydon McLean, a 25-year-old from the Bronx, turned himself in at the 47th Precinct on Thursday, five months after the crash that killed Dwight Downer.
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An unlicensed driver has been arrested in the death of a beloved Bronx football coach.
Sheydon McLean, a 25-year-old from the Bronx, turned himself in at the 47th Precinct on Thursday, five months after the crash that killed Dwight Downer.
Downer was a retired corrections officer and spent his time as the head football coach of the Bronx Buccaneers football team, where he served as a mentor to youth in the community.
"It is some sort of justice for us, obviously with everything coming to a resolution, it doesn't bring my father back," said Desiree Downer, Dwight Downer's daughter.
McLean was driving a BMW on Nov. 30 when police say he ran a red light and crashed into a truck driver at the intersection of Eastchester Road and Givan Avenue. The impact sent the BMW spiraling and into Downer, who had just parked his car outside of his home.
Downer was rushed to Jacobi Hospital, where he died.
McLean stayed at the scene of the crash but was not initially charged. Investigators later determined he was speeding at the time of the collision and ran the red light.
The driver of the truck, Orville Berry, from Yonkers, left the scene of the accident. Berry was arrested in March and pleaded not guilty to his charges.
Police sources say McLean had multiple red-light violations since the crash. He is charged with manslaughter in the second degree, criminally negligent homicide and driving without a license.
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"I would like people to remember him as that one person that always cared for you, if you didn't have anyone in your corner, he was for sure the one and he would let you know that and show it," said Desiree Downer.
Downer's family has advocated for road safety improvements to be made at the intersection where he was killed. In 2017, Dwight Downer spoke to News 12 calling for changes after a car crashed into his yard on Eastchester road.
There have been at least 11 people injured at the intersection in the last five years, according to Vision Zero data.
"Of course, while living here, you hear a lot of people just zooming by and speeding. The fact that during that year he did speak out, and let it be known that something needs to be done and nothing was done, is pretty concerning, so it's like did someone have to lose their life in order for the city to do something," said Desiree Downer.
