A Wrong-Way Driver Hit Ada Rivero’s Uber in Manhattan. A Homicide Indictment Followed.

What changed between May and July

Patch’s May 7 account, drawn from the police, placed the collision at about 3:40 a.m. on May 3 near West 70th Street on the Henry Hudson Parkway. The vehicles were a white 2024 Subaru Crosstrek and a black 2020 Toyota Highlander. Police identified the rear passenger as Ada Rivero, 65, of West 57th Street. She was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and later pronounced dead. The Highlander’s 49-year-old driver had minor injuries and was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside in stable condition. Police said Robert Koch, 26, was arrested later that Sunday evening and charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter. The investigation was ongoing as of that report.

Patch’s July 9 follow-up and the district attorney’s announcement the same day describe a broader indictment: one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of second-degree manslaughter, two counts of second-degree vehicular manslaughter, one count of third-degree assault, one count of aggravated driving while intoxicated, and one count of driving while intoxicated.

According to the district attorney, Koch left a Times Square event at about 3:30 a.m., walked to his car on West 51st Street, and then entered the southbound side of the West Side Highway while driving north, near West 57th Street. The announcement says that after avoiding multiple collisions with cars traveling the correct direction, he collided head-on with the Uber near West 72nd Street. FDNY personnel extracted Rivero and her driver. A witness removed Koch from his vehicle. Rivero was pronounced dead at 6:36 a.m. from multiple blunt force injuries.

The May 7 police account names the Henry Hudson Parkway near West 70th Street. The July 9 account names the West Side Highway near West 72nd Street. Both reports describe the May 3 collision that killed Rivero. They use different place names, and neither report says those names are the same point. The 3:30 a.m. time is when prosecutors say Koch left the event. Police placed the collision itself at about 3:40 a.m.

What the public record says about the ride

The announcement is why this is a rideshare story. Rivero was a passenger in a vehicle the district attorney called an Uber, and another vehicle hit it. The announcement does not say where her ride began. It does not publish an insurance policy. It does not describe a civil case.

That missing origin matters in New York. The state Department of Financial Services explains that Vehicle and Traffic Law Article 44-B does not apply to a prearranged trip originating in New York City. A qualifying trip that begins elsewhere in New York State and ends in the city is still covered by Article 44-B.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission also distinguishes state TNC authorization from city licensing. Authorization alone does not permit a driver to pick up passengers in the five boroughs. For-hire operation inside the city requires the relevant TLC credentials. That is a general licensing rule. It is not a finding about this Highlander.

Any TLC or for-hire classification of Rivero’s ride stays conditional. It depends on the trip record and the licensing record. The May 7 police account, the July 9 indictment announcement, and Patch’s July 9 report do not establish that classification. The Manhattan location and the Uber label are not enough to pick a statutory insurance limit. The charging announcement does not establish a payout or a coverage denial.

The distinction matters here because prosecutors accuse the other driver of causing the head-on collision. Nothing in their published account says the Uber driver was intoxicated or traveling the wrong way.

As of November 10, 2026, the July 9 indictment is the latest prosecution status in these sources. It gives Rivero’s death a specific criminal case and a documented list of allegations. It does not provide a plea, a verdict, a sentence, a public account of where her ride started, or a basis for blaming the driver who was carrying her.