A hit-and-run driver accused of fatally mowing down a 3-year-old boy in Queens was arrested Thursday, police said.
Kevin Gomez, 20, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and permit unlicensed operation, according to the NYPD.
Gomez, of Maspeth, was arrested just past 4 p.m. not far from the scene where he is accused of running over the boy before driving away at around 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, cops said.
Quintas Chen, 3, was fatally struck by a white 2014 Infiniti Q50 on College Point Boulevard near 41st Avenue in Flushing, cops said. Robert Mecea
The tot fell to the ground and was then struck by the driver’s side tires of the sedan, cops said. Robert MeceaGomez was allegedly pulling his white 2014 Infiniti Q50 out of a parking spot on College Point Boulevard near 41st Avenue in Flushing as little Quintas Chen was crossing the street in front of the vehicle — and hit the boy without stopping, cops said.
The tot fell to the ground and was then struck by the driver’s side tires of the sedan, cops said.
The gravely injured boy – who lived only about two blocks from where he was struck – was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
The hit-and-run driver’s vehicle was later recovered blocks away from the scene, cops said. Robert MeceaHis devastated parents could barely speak Thursday outside their Flushing apartment, with his father saying only “My baby,” before making a forward sweeping motion with his hand, suggesting the speed with which the driver took off after the collision.
“I don’t think I spent enough time with him,” mother Karen Ng said through a blue face mask as she held back sobs.
She described her son as a “cute and adorable” boy, adding, “His teachers say he learns pretty fast.”
Queens Assemblyman Ron Kim said the tragedy was every parent’s “worst nightmare,” noting that his own son’s nursery is in the neighborhood and, “it could’ve happened to any of us.”
“Obviously they’re in complete shock and traumatized,” he said of the grieving parents. “They want to make sure that everyone’s held accountable and there’s justice for what happened to their child.”
Kim said the driver had accelerated and swiped the boy “in a matter of a split seconds,” and may have also been illegally parked.
The Infiniti was recovered unoccupied four blocks away, at College Point Boulevard and Pople Avenue, cops said.
The NYPD’s Highway District Collision Investigation Squad is continuing to probe the crash, police said.
