Dies in rollover Bx. crash
Driver killed in SUV flip near home, brother by his side lives
A horrifying SUV crash became a matter of life and death for two Bronx brothers.
Jeramiah Hamilton, 21, was behind the wheel of his Hyundai SUV when the vehicle went out of control on Crotona Ave. in East Tremont, rolling over two parked cars Friday night before landing on the driver’s side just four blocks from home, police said.
But his 23-year-old brother, riding in the passenger seat, emerged alive and intact from the fatal wreck around 7:50 p.m., cops said. Police were still investigating the crash on Saturday.
Medics rushed Hamilton to St. Barnabas Hospital, but he could not be saved.
Friends speculated that he was trying to dodge someone chasing the SUV after a car accident.
“It’s just a tragedy,” a neighbor said sadly. “But one day we will see him in heaven. Everybody got a number.”
Hamilton’s relatives were too grief-stricken to speak to reporters Saturday about the bizarre wreck that claimed one son and spared the other.
Friends and neighbors described Hamilton as a polite young man who had plans to work for Uber and other appbased ride share and delivery services.
“He was very respectful to the adults,” said a neighbor who identified herself only as Sandy. “I just feel bad. I didn’t even find out until this morning.”
Sandy, who knew the victim since he was a boy, said Hamilton loved playing football.
“In the wintertime, it is cold as hell and they were out here in their T-shirts and playing football,” she recalled.
Friends erected a small memorial of cardboard and votive candles outside Hamilton’s apartment building on LaFontaine Ave., where loved ones wrote “RIP Jeramiah” or “RIP Drip Baby” — the dead man’s nickname.
“They just killed my best friend, yo!” screamed one longtime friend as he stood by the site.
The friend said he and Hamilton had hatched a plan to make some money with ride-sharing apps.
“First thing I told him is ‘Let’s do Uber, let’s do Amazon, let’s do Postmates, let’s do Instacart,’ ” said the friend, who declined to give his name. “‘You got a car now, do this, do this. You 21 now.’”