"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 drove onto the sidewalk, pinning Alvarez against a pole and striking her mother and stepfather, prosecutors said. He allegedly drove in reverse and hit an unoccupied van before abandoning his car and fleeing on foot. 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."
A 38-year-old man allegedly harassed a 16-year-old girl and her mother outside a restaurant in Elmhurst early Saturday and then engaged in a physical altercation with the girl's stepfather and boyfriend. The group crossed Benham Street, where the man allegedly drove a Chevrolet Suburban onto the sidewalk, pinning the girl against a pole and striking her relatives. He reportedly reversed into an unoccupied van and fled on foot before approaching officers. His blood-alcohol content measured .137%. First responders pronounced the girl dead; he was arraigned on murder and related charges and held without bail.
Read at Gothamist
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