A TEEN girl was struck and killed in a horrific hit-and-run in New York after a “drunk” driver allegedly made lewd comments to her and got into an argument with her family.
Jhoanny Gomez-Alvarez, 16, was fatally pinned against a pillar by a 2009 Chevy Suburban in front of her own mum.
Shutterstock EditorialThe crash scene where a 16-year-old girl was fatally struck by a 2009 Chevy Suburban[/caption]
ABC7Cops were called in the early hours of Saturday to the NYC borough of Queens[/caption]
ABC7The 38-year-old suspect allegedly made lewd comments to the teen[/caption]
ABC7CCTV shows the suspect frantically driving his SUV just after 4am[/caption]
The grim incident took place just after 4am on Saturday near Roosevelt Avenue and Benham Street in Queens.
Police sources said the chaos began moments earlier outside a neighbourhood bar.
The 38-year-old suspect allegedly hurled sexually charged remarks at the teen as she walked out with her boyfriend, mother, and her mother’s friend, the New York Post reports.
A scuffle broke out, but after freeing himself, the man jumped into his SUV, mounted the curb, and mowed down Jhoanny, according to police and witnesses.
The teen’s 32-year-old mother was also struck before the driver smashed into a parked car while trying to flee.
According to the New York Times, a law enforcement official said Jhoanny was “intentionally” struck after the heated verbal dispute.
Surveillance video obtained by the paper is said to show the SUV careening onto the curb at high speed and smashing into the group as they stepped onto the sidewalk.
One person is reportedly seen thrown into the street while another is pinned between the vehicle and a pole.
In the chaotic aftermath, members of the group reportedly banged on the hood and windows of the Suburban as the driver reversed off the curb, knocking over a trash can before fleeing down Benham Street.
A man in a white shirt appeared to hurl the fallen trash can at the vehicle in a desperate attempt to stop him, the New York Times reported.
Hussain Almuflahi, who owns a store at the intersection, told the Times his security cameras captured the horror.
“They didn’t see it coming,” he said.
Jhoanny was pronounced dead at the scene, while her mother was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital and is in a stable condition.
ABC News reported that the 38-year-old driver has since been arrested and charged with murder.
Cops said he intentionally mounted the sidewalk and targeted the teen and her mother before trying to escape, according to the outlet.
Separate surveillance footage reviewed by the New York Post is said to show Jhoanny hours before her death leaving her Manhattan apartment building on Broadway.
She was seen in a white crop top and jean shorts with her family and boyfriend.
The building supervisor told the outlet: “It’s difficult to see her alive on that video, knowing she died six hours later.
“A young woman with so much life in her.”
He added that the teen and her family had only lived there for three months.
Shutterstock EditorialThe driver was arrested and charged with murder, cops said[/caption]
Shutterstock EditorialPolice have since cordoned off the area after Saturday’s grim hit-and-run[/caption]
Neighbor Astrid Medjo, 54, said she had seen the family in the elevator on at least two occasions and was shaken by the tragedy.
“It puzzles you, and it makes you think it can happen to anyone,” Medjo said.
“Really just anyone.”
The deadly collision unfolded along Roosevelt Avenue, an area long plagued by crime and vice, according to the New York Times.
Police have recently focused on cleaning up the corridor under “Operation Restore Roosevelt,” a multi-agency initiative announced last year by New York Mayor Eric Adams.
Authorities have touted progress in reducing crime and cracking down on gangs in the area, though some residents worry illegal activity will spill into neighbouring streets.
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