Queens 16-year-old fatally struck: Driver charged with murder was intoxicated, made sexual remarks to victims, officials say
Police say a driver who allegedly fatally struck a 16-year-old in Queens on Saturday, was drunk and made crude sexual remarks to the victim and her mother before the crash.
Edwin Cruz Gomez, 38, was arraigned Sunday night on charges, including murder, attempted murder, vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated among other counts.
In court, prosecutors revealed new details about what allegedly led up to the deadly incident.
Prosecutors said Gomez was with several men outside the Prima Donna Restaurant, on Roosevelt Avenue between Elmhurst Avenue and Benham Street just after 4 a.m.
They say Gomez encountered the victim, 16-year-old Jhoanny Alvarez, with her mother, stepfather and her mother's boyfriend.
Prosecutors say Gomez then began harassing Alvarez and her mother, allegedly offering them both money for sexual acts.
"He was offering them money, trying to grab them, things that no one really knows," said eyewitness Carlos Alejandro said.
A verbal dispute ensued and then escalated into a physical fight between the mother's boyfriend and Gomez. Bystanders then intervened and separated the men.
After the confrontation, prosecutors say the victim, her mother, stepfather and the mother's boyfriend all walked away from the restaurant to the opposite side of Roosevelt Avenue, crossing Benham Street and stood a distance away.
That's when prosecutors say Gomez got into his 2009 Chevrolet Suburban, made a right turn onto Benham Street, drove onto the sidewalk directly at the group of four, including the 16-year-old, who was struck and killed after being pinned against a pole. Her mother and stepfather were also struck and injured, according to officials.
Surveillance video shows the teen just before the three-ton SUV drives onto the sidewalk and runs right into the teen. Family members were seen beating on the windows of the SUV, desperately trying to get the driver to back up to free her. Alvarez's mother was so distraught after identifying her daughter's body, she had to be transported on a stretcher.
Video shows the SUV then takes off in reverse and is seen in surveillance video going the wrong way on on Benham Street, a one-way street, until it crashes into an unoccupied van.
Officials say he then ditched his SUV and fled on foot, eventually approaching NYPD officers and allegedly told them that he was assaulted.
He then led them back to the scene of the crash, where officers determined Gomez's blood alcohol content was above the legal limit.
"I hope God's full punishment falls on him and takes care of his death," Alejandro said.
If convicted of the charges, Gomez faces 25 years to life in prison.
He is scheduled to return to court on Friday, Sept. 19.
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