Long Island man charged with murder for driving into, killing teen in Queens
A Long Island man is facing up to life in prison for allegedly killing a teenage girl in a drunken hit-and-run in Queens after prosecutors say he tried to offer her and her mother money for sexual acts and became enraged when the girl’s stepfather and boyfriend confronted him.
The man, 38-year-old Edwin Cruz Gomez of Uniondale, was outside the Prima Donna restaurant on Roosevelt Avenue in Elmhurst with a group of other men around 4 a.m. Saturday when 16-year-old Jhoanny Alvarez and her mother walked by, according to the Queens district attorney’s office. Cruz Gomez began harassing them and got into an altercation with Alvarez’s stepfather and boyfriend that turned physical and led bystanders to separate the men, prosecutors said.
Alvarez and her group walked away from the restaurant toward the opposite side of Roosevelt Avenue, crossing Benham Street, according to the DA. Cruz Gomez then got into his Chevrolet Suburban, made a right turn on Benham Street and
According to the DA, Cruz Gomez approached uniformed NYPD officers a few blocks away, reported he had been assaulted and led them back to the collision scene. His blood-alcohol content measured .137%, well above the legal threshold of .08%, prosecutors said.
First responders pronounced Alvarez dead on the sidewalk, while her mother was taken with leg injuries to a local hospital, the DA’s office said.
Cruz Gomez was arraigned Sunday night on charges including murder, attempted murder, assault and vehicular manslaughter and ordered held in jail without bail, according to court records. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
He is due back in court Friday, and his lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Monday.
This is a developing story based on preliminary information from prosecutors and may be updated.
