An Uber Eats delivery driver killed on the job when his scooter collided with an MTA bus was heading against traffic on a one-way street when he was struck, cops said Thursday.
Andy Peralta, 32, was riding his 2025 Zhilong scooter north on Jerome Ave. when he turned left onto W. Mosholu Parkway South and was struck by an oncoming Bx28 bus in Bedford Park about 5:14 p.m. Wednesday, according to police.
“He was like a little brother to me,” the victim’s cousin, 34-year-old Eddie Martinez, told the Daily News. “It definitely took a toll on me. I was distraught. I didn’t really want to believe it at first.”
The collision sent Peralta flying from his scooter, and he suffered a severe head injury, police said. He was taken St. Barnabas Hospital, where he died.
Police initially believed the scooter rider had made a U-turn on Jerome Ave. when he was struck, before saying Thursday that he collided with the bus while heading against traffic on the one-way street.
Andy Peralta (Family Handout)
Peralta began making deliveries for Uber Eats more than five years ago, after his mother helped him purchase his bike, his cousin said.
“He really likes to ride his moped. That was his cathartic release,” said Martinez, adding that in the last five to seven years “it became a thing… He was a pretty experienced rider.”
“He loved being able to go places,” Martinez said. “The freedom to wake up and just go.”
The victim lived with his mom in the University Heights section of the Bronx, about three miles from where he was killed.
“Obviously, (his mom’s) devastated,” the victim’s cousin said. “She’s going through the grieving process, frustrated, not understanding the whole situation. She’s casting blame left and right.”
The victim’s family launched an online fundraiser to help pay his funeral expenses.
“Anyone who knew Andy knows that he lived life to the fullest,” reads the GoFundMe posted Thursday. “He had a passion for the open road, a laugh that could brighten any room, and a heart of gold. His loss has left a hole in our family that can never be filled.