Drunk Driver Charged After Mowing Down Teen Girl On NYC Sidewalk: DA

NEW YORK CITY — A drunk driver has been charged and is being held without bail after he intentionally drove into four people — killing a 16-year-old girl — in Queens on Saturday, prosecutors said on Monday.

Edwin Cruz Gomez, 38, of Long Island, faces murder, attempted murder, assault, vehicular homicide, and driving under the influence of alcohol, among other charges.

According to police, on Sept. 13, Cruz Gomez got into a verbal dispute with the victim's stepfather after he began harassing the 16-year-old and her mother and offered them both money for sex outside Prima Donna Restaurant on Roosevelt Avenue.

A physical fight then ensued between the stepfather and Cruz Gomez. After they were separated by bystanders, Gomez got into his gray 2009 Chevy Suburban while the four victims walked away from the restaurant and crossed Benham Street.

The 38-year-old suspect is accused of turning onto Benham Street, and then driving up onto the sidewalk and striking Alvarez, her mother, and stepfather. Gomez got out of his car and fled the scene after he struck an unoccupied van while trying to escape.

The 16-year-old Alvarez was pronounced dead at the scene. Her mother suffered injuries to her leg.

Gomez's blood alcohol content measured .137 percent, which was above the legal threshold of .08 percent.

“As alleged, this defendant subjected 16-year-old Jhoanny Alvarez and her mother to crude sexual solicitations and harassment. After the child’s stepfather and boyfriend confronted Edwin Cruz Gomez and then crossed to the other side of the street, the intoxicated defendant drove his SUV onto the sidewalk and took aim at the group of four," District Attorney Melinda Katz said. "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.”

If convicted, Gomez faces up to 25 years to life in prison.