A man behind the wheel of a car that struck and killed a prominent Manhattan philanthropist while he was riding his bike last year has been arrested, police said Wednesday.
Lesnier Ortega Varona, 38, was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian nearly 10 months after the death of philanthropist Geoffrey Radbill, 78, whose generosity included major donations to his alma mater, Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Radbill was riding his bicycle on Dec. 7 along Riverside Drive when he was struck from behind by a silver 2021 Toyota sedan, cops said.
Radbill suffered severe injuries and was rushed to Harlem Hospital, where he died. Varona stayed at the scene.
The NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad followed up on the case and brought the charges against Varona on Wednesday, police said.
Radbill, a longtime Upper West Side resident, was a successful financier and generous supporter of his alma mater, where in 2023, a renovated portion of the Mathematical Sciences Building was named in his honor.
A Bowling Green bio said Radbill retired from AXA-Equitable in 2004 after 36 years with the firm. His philanthropic work included the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.