An unlicensed SUV driver accused of intentionally mowing down a 16-year-old girl on a Queens sidewalk after a quarrel over a lewd comment he made has been charged with murder, cops said Sunday.
Edwin Cruz Gomez, 38, of Uniondale, L.I., was taken into custody after driving off and crashing his 2009 gray Chevrolet Suburban a couple of blocks away from the horrific scene in Jackson Heights Saturday, police said.
Cruz Gomez is facing a slew of charges including murder, vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, driving without a valid license, leaving the scene of a fatal crash and four counts of weapon possession.
He said nothing as he was led in handcuffs by cops from the 110th Precinct stationhouse Sunday. His face appeared bruised from the crash and he was taken to a local hospital, delaying his arraignment in Queens Criminal Court, officials said.
Police say a rampaging Cruz Gomez vaulted his SUV onto a Queens sidewalk at Roosevelt Ave. and Benham St. and slammed into Jhoanny Gomez- Alvarez, 16, and her 32-year-old mother.
The clash began as Cruz Gomez was standing near his SUV with North Carolina license plates outside a bar beneath the elevated No. 7 subway line as Jhoanny, her mother and two men walked by at around 4:15 a.m.
An intoxicated Cruz Gomez made a lewd comment to the teen, sparking an argument between him, Jhoanny, her mother and the two men, one of whom is believed to be Jhoanny’s boyfriend, according to police.
The foursome then walked off, witnesses told police. That’s when Cruz Gomez allegedly jumped into his SUV and pursued them, vaulting the sidewalk and striking mother and daughter.
Jhoanny died at the scene. Medics took her mother to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition.
“He was driving, then he makes a turn and he hits the girl,” a horrified cashier at a nearby deli who witnessed the crash told the Daily News. “He did it on purpose.”
“She was walking,” she added. “He hit her in the back. I was working. I came outside and I saw somebody cry and somebody scream … He hit the girl, then tried to run away. He backed away and he went (down) the wrong-way street.”
Originally Published: September 14, 2025 at 12:26 AM EDT
