Edwin Cruz Gomez, the Long Island man indicted in the fatal hit-and-run that claimed the life of 16-year-old Jhoanny Saray Gomez-Alvarez in Queens, pleaded not guilty to a myriad of charges, including murder, attempted murder, and driving while intoxicated, CBS News New York reports. The indictment details that on the night of the incident, Cruz Gomez allegedly made unwanted sexual propositions towards the teenager and her mother, followed by a confrontation which led to him using his Chevy Suburban as a deadly weapon on a Roosevelt Avenue sidewalk.
The hit-and-run attack emerged from an argument outside Prima Donna Restaurant on the morning of September 13, wherein the 38-year-old suspect reportedly propositioned Gomez-Alvarez and her mother, leading to a fight that involved the girl's stepfather and boyfriend, after which Cruz Gomez got into his vehicle, drove onto the sidewalk and struck the teenager, pinning her against a pole and causing her mother severe injury, as he later fled the scene, the New York Post reports. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called it a "completely preventable tragedy," lamenting the "senseless loss" of Jhoanny as the family grieved in court.
Cruz Gomez's history includes previous deportations and legal infractions, according to a report by the New York Post. He is reportedly a Honduran national who was deported from the US in 2005 and returned at an unspecified time. ICE officials had lost track of him despite his involvement in various incidents, including a DUI arrest in 2013 and a possession of a forged instrument charge in October 2024, and it was claimed that due to administration priorities, his deportation was not considered urgent.
In the wake of the tragedy, an ICE detainer has been issued against Cruz Gomez following his recent arrest; he was remanded into custody with a court return date set, facing the possibility of 25 years to life in prison if convicted on the top count of murder, his legal status again attracting the spotlight as questions about policy and enforcement emerge. Despite previous altercations and reports of his drunken state at the crash, with a blood alcohol content more than double the legal limit, the consequences had yet been unable to deter the series of events leading up to this fatal moment captured in a community's mourning and outcry, CBS News New York relayed.
