A 38-year-old man was arraigned Sunday on murder and other charges after prosecutors said he drove a sport utility vehicle onto a Queens sidewalk and fatally struck a 16-year-old girl following an altercation outside a restaurant.
Edwin Cruz-Gomez is accused of intentionally maneuvering a 2009 Chevy Suburban onto Roosevelt Avenue and a one-way street, driving the wrong direction, mounting a sidewalk and striking three people after making lewd comments to the teenager and her mother, Assistant District Attorney Abigail Neumiller told the court. Prosecutors said the teen, identified as Jhoanny Alvarez, was killed and her mother and stepfather were injured. Authorities said Cruz-Gomez asked officers at the scene, "Did I kill her?"
Prosecutors said the incident occurred Saturday morning outside Prima Donna Restaurant in the Elmhurst neighborhood. Alvarez and three relatives were leaving a family event when Cruz-Gomez, who was with several other men, allegedly began to harass them with comments such as "I want to have sex with you" and "If I gave you money, will you have sex with me?" Neumiller said. The comments led to a physical confrontation between Cruz-Gomez and Alvarez's stepfather that bystanders separated.
According to prosecutors, after the fight was broken up Cruz-Gomez got into his SUV, which was double-parked, and "floored it at a high rate of speed." Neumiller told the court Cruz-Gomez drove around a pole and struck three of four people in his path. "The 16-year-old was hit so hard that she was impaled," the prosecutor said. The defendant then allegedly reversed against the posted direction until he struck an unoccupied van, abandoned his vehicle and fled the scene. He was later approached by officers.
Cruz-Gomez was described in court as "extremely intoxicated." Authorities said his blood-alcohol level was 0.137 four hours after the collision, nearly twice New York's legal limit of 0.08. After being detained, he led officers back to the scene and made statements acknowledging he had struck a pole and did not have a license, according to prosecutors. In court he told officers, "I was driving. I hit a pole... Did I kill her?"
Cruz-Gomez was arraigned Sunday night in Queens Criminal Court and ordered held without bail. He faces a slate of charges that include second-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder in the second degree, two counts of assault in the second degree, vehicular manslaughter in the second degree and multiple driving-under-the-influence–related counts. If convicted, prosecutors said he could face up to 25 years to life in prison.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement the defendant "pinned the teen against a pole with his vehicle and injured her mother and stepfather as he barreled his 3-ton vehicle into them. This defendant is now charged with murder and related crimes, and we will seek justice for Alvarez and her family."
Alvarez's mother sustained leg injuries and was taken to a local hospital for treatment, authorities said.
Court papers reviewed by prosecutors indicated Cruz-Gomez had been charged earlier this year with driving while intoxicated on the Southern State Parkway in Long Island on Jan. 26; his license was suspended after that incident. Six months later he was stopped in Nassau County for speeding and driving with a suspended license, and records show he was later granted a conditional license. He was scheduled to appear in Nassau County District Court next month on those matters.
Judge Lana Schlesinger ordered Cruz-Gomez's conditional license suspended and set his next court appearance for Sept. 19. During the brief, roughly 10-minute arraignment Cruz-Gomez remained expressionless, prosecutors said.
The investigation remains active. Police and prosecutors said they will present evidence as the case moves through the courts, and the district attorney's office said it will seek justice on behalf of the victim and her family.
