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4d ago

Queens Driver Charged With Murder After SUV Kills 16-Year-Old on Sidewalk

Police say Edwin Cruz Gomez jumped the curb after a verbal dispute, with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit.

A 15-year-old driver too young to legally be driving lost control of a car and struck a 71-year-old man standing on a sidewalk at Pennsylvania and Hegeman Aves in East New York, Brooklyn, on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
16yr old Jhoanny Gomez-Alvarez was pronounced dead on scene after she was intentionally run down by a 38yr old man driving an older model tan colored Chevrolet Suburban SUV on Roosevelt Avenue and Benham Street in Queens on Saturday Sept. 13, 2025. 0957. The man then drove the wrong way on one way Benham Street before smashing into a parked and unoccupied white minivan, pushing the minivan up onto the sidewalk and into a utility pole. He then made his escape on foot, but was caught by responding Officers. A 32yr old woman, struck by the same SUV at the same location, was taken to Elmhurst Hospital. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
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Overview

  • Investigators say a gray 2009 Chevy Suburban mounted the sidewalk at Roosevelt Avenue and Benham Street around 4:15 a.m. after an argument with pedestrians.
  • Jhoanny Gomez-Alvarez, 16, was pronounced dead at the scene, and a 32-year-old woman identified by police as her mother was hospitalized in stable condition at Elmhurst Hospital.
  • The driver, identified as 38-year-old Edwin Cruz Gomez of Uniondale, allegedly fled, struck a parked car, abandoned the SUV and was taken into custody nearby.
  • Police report his blood-alcohol content was over 0.08% and cite surveillance video and witness accounts as key evidence.
  • Authorities say he faces 28 counts including murder, attempted murder, vehicular manslaughter, DWI, leaving the scene and unlicensed operation, with the investigation and arraignment pending.