A Bronx woman has been arrested more than two years after allegedly causing the death of a car wash employee in a reckless hit-and-run incident. Trina Bryant, 32, was taken into custody at her home on Thursday by NYPD warrants connected to the case from February 19, 2023, in Morisania.
She faces several charges, including manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and leaving the scene of an accident, according to police reports.
Bryant reportedly drove her 2011 Ford Escape directly into the path of a 2017 Toyota RAV4. The victim, 47-year-old Felix Thomas Bontier, was struck while he was facing southbound traffic outside the car wash, where he had apparently stepped out and ended up in the bus lane. It’s noted that he was caught between the two vehicles before being thrown to the ground.
Emergency responders rushed Bontier to Lincoln Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the Toyota was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital with minor injuries, but thankfully is in stable condition, authorities indicated.
Interestingly, it appears that Bryant’s vehicle also collided with an unoccupied 2014 Nissan Altima parked nearby. Following the crash, Bryant’s Ford came to a stop a short distance down the block, though her passengers are still unaccounted for as of Thursday.
During her arraignment at Bronx Crown Court, she pleaded not guilty and is being held on $250,000 cash bail or a $750,000 bond, according to online court records.
This isn’t Bryant’s first brush with the law; she has been arrested seven times previously, though none of those charges were related to driving offenses. Her most recent arrest came after an alleged violation of a protective order issued by someone she knew in September 2023.
