Police in New York City arrested a man on September 13, 2025, in connection with the death of a 16-year-old girl. Jhoanny Gomez-Alvarez was walking down Roosevelt Avenue in Queens around 4 a.m. with her mother when 38-year-old Edwin Cruz Gomez allegedly drove his SUV onto the sidewalk, hitting the pair. Cruz Gomez reportedly left the scene, but police arrested him a short time later. Now, he faces multiple charges, including murder.
NBC New York reported that Johanny and her unnamed mother had dinner in Queens that evening with their boyfriends. While out, Jhoanny’s mother’s boyfriend allegedly got into a verbal and physical altercation with Cruz Gomez. After the group left the restaurant, Gomez allegedly drove his SUV straight into the women, mowing them down. The vehicle reportedly pinned Jhoanny against a utility pole, and she died at the scene.
“I seen across the street, they had him on the floor and he was hysterical,” Tamara Dupree told NBC New York.
Per surveillance reviewed by ABC 7, Cruz Gomez allegedly backed up his SUV after the accident and took off, later hitting a parked car. Police apprehended him shortly thereafter.
“I just heard the impact, it sounded like a big crush. Like something hit something and a big noise. And then I came out of the building, I looked and I saw the accident,” Geovanni Quintero told ABC 7.
According to court documents obtained by the New York Post, Cruz Gomez faced charges earlier in 2025 for driving while intoxicated on the Southern State Parkway in Long Island. A court suspended his license in late January. Nassau County police caught him speeding and driving with a suspended license six months later. He was due in court in October for both prior offenses.
Cruz Gomez now faces new charges of murder, attempted murder, vehicular manslaughter, and driving while intoxicated, per the Post.
