A Maspeth man was criminally charged with manslaughter in the death of a 3-year-old boy in Flushing last week, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Ton Dec. 7.
Kevin Gomez, 20, of 60th Road, is accused of hitting the child with his car and dragging him approximately 10 feet before driving away. Gomez is charged on a 14-count indictment for manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault and other crimes.
According to the charges, on the night of Wednesday, Nov. 29, at approximately 6:39 p.m., video surveillance shows that Gomez parked his 2014 white Infiniti Q50 in a No Standing Zone in front of 41-04 College Point Blvd. at 41st Avenue. He went into the Dunkin Donuts at that location and returned to his car.
Quintus Chen, 3, of Flushing, was walking down the street ahead of his father and stepped off the curb in front of the Infiniti. Video surveillance footage shows that the child’s head cleared the top of the car’s hood and he would have been visible to the driver, according to the charges. Without signaling, Gomez then pulled forward into a traffic lane on College Point Boulevard. Chen was thrown from the hood to the street underneath the car and he was dragged approximately 10 feet. Gomez appeared to slow or stop the vehicle before driving off.
The child sustained severe head and neck trauma. EMS responded to the scene and rushed the youngster to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the charges.
At approximately 8:50 p.m., the Infiniti was found parked in front of a fire hydrant at the intersection of College Point Boulevard and Pople Avenue, about four blocks from the collision scene, according to the charges. It was towed to the 109th Precinct. The vehicle was observed to have blood on the driver’s side kick board. The car’s windows were excessively tinted. The windshield had a light transmittance of 11% and the driver’s side window had a light transmittance of 0%, both below the legal threshold of 70%.
Gomez was arrested the next day when he went to the 109th Precinct in Flushing to inquire about the whereabouts of his car. Gomez had only a learner’s permit and could not legally drive unless accompanied by a licensed driver at least 21 years old. The car’s registration and insurance had expired. Gomez faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
“There are few threats to public safety more lethal than an unlicensed driver operating an unregistered, uninsured vehicle at night with a windshield and windows tinted so dark you can barely see through them in broad daylight,” Katz said. “We will show in court that the horrifying death of 3-year-old Quintus Chen was the result of the defendant’s recklessness, irresponsibility and indifference to human life.”