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Uber driver shot, pedestrian killed in NYC's first murder and traffic deaths of 2026
By
Ryan Kost
Published Jan 2, 2026
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José A. Alvarado Jr.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Jan 2, 2026
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Just hours after the ball dropped, New York City recorded its first murder and first fatal traffic crash of 2026, with two men killed in separate early-morning incidents in the Bronx and Queens.
Police said a 55-year-old Uber driver was shot and killed shortly before 7 a.m. Thursday near Morris Avenue and the Cross Bronx Expressway.
Officers found the victim, Issa Mbolo-Isac, with a gunshot wound to the head.
Mbolo-Isac “was a great human being, a very giving human being, a very religious Muslim, someone that only gave of himself,” Fernando Mateo, chair of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, said.
Mbolo-Isac was on his way to a mosque following a long New Year’s Eve shift, and had just spoken with his brother when two men approached his vehicle and tried to force him out, according to Mateo. When Mbolo-Isac tried to drive away, the men shot at the car.
Issa Isac was shot and killed while driving an Uber.
New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers.
The federation is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the shooters’ arrests, Mateo said. It’s the largest reward the organization has ever offered.
“His entire family is just mourning in a state of shock,” Mateo said.
No arrests have been made in the case.
The murder in the West Bronx was preceded by a fatal hit-and-run in Corona.
Two men were crossing 102nd Street and 37th Avenue at 4 a.m. when the driver of a white SUV slammed into them, the NYPD said.
The impact was so powerful that one of the men was thrown into a parked vehicle and pinned underneath, police said. The man, whose name was not released, died at the scene.
The second pedestrian, a 24-year-old man, was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and is in critical condition, police said.
Investigators are searching for the driver, who fled the scene.
Tagged
new york city
public safety
transportation
Ryan Kost
Ryan Kost is a reporter on the day-of news desk, where he covers breaking news and writes enterprise stories about jails, courts, prosecutors and government accountability. His work focuses on the public institutions that shape life in New York. Before joining the newsroom, he lead a multi-part investigation with Columbia Journalism Investigations and New York Focus into how New York prosecutors handle wrongful conviction claims. He's also been a staff writer at The San Francisco Chronicle, The Associated Press and The Oregonian. Got a tip? Signal: ryankost.20
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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