Police arrest Zipcar driver after two month search who was caught on camera hitting and killing a beloved New York chef, 34, a month before his wedding while making an illegal turn onto a one-way street

  • Police have arrested Xavier Ward, 23, for multiple charges including leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death
  • Adrian Blanc was hit by an SUV while walking home from work in New York City around 1am on November 14
  • The 34-year-old had just finished his shift at Hill and Bay restaurant and was going to catch the subway in Union Square back to Brooklyn 
  • He died in the hospital the next day, a month before he was set to wed
  • Video shows the moment the driver of a 2016 Jeep Renegade sped onto Union Square East, going in the wrong direction, and struck Blanc in the crosswalk
  • Ward briefly paused after hitting Blanc, but didn't get out of his car
  • The SUV was later found in Brooklyn but the driver remained on the loose until his arrest on Tuesday
  • It was a Zipcar, a company that allows members to borrow cars for errands 

By Mollie Cahillane and Ashley Collman For Dailymail.com

Published: 10:15 EDT, 3 January 2018 | Updated: 13:51 EDT, 3 January 2018

Police have arrested the a man for killing a pedestrian in a hit-and-run inNew York City after a two month search.

Xavier Ward, 23, from Brooklyn, is facing charges of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, leaving the scene of an accident with failure to show license and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. 

Video shows the moment that the driver of a 2016 Jeep Renegade hit 34-year-old Manhattan chef Adrian Blanc on November 14 while making an illegal turn onto a one-way street in Union Square.

The driver, now believed to be Ward, briefly stops after hitting Blanc, but never gets out of his car and eventually speeds away without getting help. 

Police in New York City have arrested for the driver believed to be responsible for killing a 34-year-old in a hit and run in November

Police in New York City have arrested for the driver believed to be responsible for killing a 34-year-old in a hit and run in November

The NYPD released shocking video of the hit and run incident that claimed Adrian Blanc's life

The NYPD released shocking video of the hit and run incident that claimed Adrian Blanc's life

The driver of the 2016 Jeep Renegade, now believed to be 23-year-old Xavier Ward, briefly stopped after the accident, but never got out of his car to aide Blanc

The driver of the 2016 Jeep Renegade, now believed to be 23-year-old Xavier Ward, briefly stopped after the accident, but never got out of his car to aide Blanc

Photographs of Ward have not yet been released. 

Blanc had just finished up his shift at Murray Hill restaurant Hill and Bay, and walked down to Union Square to catch the subway back to his home in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Blanc (pictured) died the next day at the hospital 

Blanc (pictured) died the next day at the hospital 

The executive chef died at Bellevue Hospital the following day, tragically just a month before he was set to wed. 

His fiancée was in Venezuela at the time, finalizing plans for their destination wedding. 

Those plans were then scrapped for a funeral. 

Police released footage of the hit and run the next day in hopes of tracking down the person responsible for Blanc's death.

They discovered that the SUV used in the accident was a Zipcar. Zipcar is a company that charges members a monthly fee to use their fleet of cars to run errands.

It's popular in large cities like New York City where many don't own cars. 

Members book cars online and gain access to them using their smartphones or a special key card. 

After the fatal accident, police found the car in a parking garage in Flatbush, near the Kings County Hospital. 

Blanc's brother Agner spoke with the media after his death, saying that he was the 'captain of the ship' of their family
The SUV used in the accident was a Zipcar

Blanc's brother Agner spoke with the media after his death, saying that he was the 'captain of the ship' of their family

Blanc's brother Agner spoke to the media after his death and said he was the head of their family.

'He was the oldest brother, and like I said, he was the captain of this ship, he was the captain, he was the glue, so this is a really hard time for us to have to go through this,' Agner said.

His death is all the more tragic because he was planning on starting a family soon, like he had always dreamed of.

'He wanted kids. He loved my kids so much. I was actually with him on Sunday and he was playing with my son and, it's just, I'm at a loss for words,' Agner said. 

Blanc was just a month away from getting married
His brother said he looked forward to starting a family

Blanc was just a month away from getting married. His brother said he looked forward to starting a family

Blanc had just finished up his shift at Murray Hill restaurant Hill and Bay, and walked down to Union Square to catch the subway back to his home in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn

Blanc had just finished up his shift at Murray Hill restaurant Hill and Bay, and walked down to Union Square to catch the subway back to his home in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn

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Police arrest Zipcar driver in NYC fatal hit and run

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