Queens Man Charged In Hit-And-Run Of 4-Year-Old Boy

QUEENS — A Queens man faces an assault charge after authorities said he barreled through Flushing Meadows-Corona Park on a dirt bike before hitting a 4-year-old boy and speeding off, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Thursday.

Argenis Rivas, 29, was arrested by police on Wednesday after a three-day search following the hit-and-run, Katz said.

"The City has seen an unacceptable increase in defiant drivers of all types of vehicles driving illegally and hurting people. It is time we stand together to prevent further harm," Katz said, alluding to the spike in complaints about people illegally operating ATVs and dirt bikes in the city — especially in Queens.

Rivas is accused of speeding around the crowded Meadow Lake Boat Rental parking lot in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park on Sunday when he hit the boy about 5:45 p.m.

The boy, who's been identified as Jonathan Beauchamps by multiple outlets, was bleeding from his head and "remains in critical condition," according to the DA's office, but Rivas apparently drove away from the parking lot without offering to help the child.

Katz called the situation "a nightmare" for Beauchamps' family.

The boy's father, who was with him at the time of the accident, told NBC New York that his son is "a strong boy. I tell him all the time in the hospital," he said, adding that his son is in "stable" condition at Cohen Children's Hospital, but has a long way to go before getting better.

The DA also said that Rivas's driving was "reckless" — though the 29-year-old Queens resident sees the situation differently.

In a short TikTok video reported by multiple outlets, Rivas apparently said that the boy's parents were to blame for the crash.

"It was the parents' fault for not being attentive to their child," he said in the TikTok, according to NBC New York.

Beachamps' father, countered that Rivas "didn't care. What if he has a kid? What if it was done to him? ... He would want the same justice right?" he said, according to NBC.

In addition to a second degree assault charge, Rivas is also facing charges for leaving the scene of an incident, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless driving and driving without a license, according to the DA's office.

The DA's office did not specify when Rivas is expected to return to court, but said that he faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.