Story by Ethan
On October 7th, 2025, the arrest of Edwin Cruz Gomez, age 38, was announced by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. Edwin Cruz Gomez was charged with three counts of second-degree Murder, three counts of second-degree Attempted Murder, two counts of second-degree Assault, Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, third-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Leaving the Scene of an Accident Without Reporting, Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, two counts of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol, and Reckless Driving. The arrest and charges against Edwin Cruz Gomez were a result of an investigation handled by Detective Timothy Ziegler of the NYPD’s 110th Detective Squad.
According to the Queens District Attorney’s Office, at approximately 4:10 a.m. on September 13th, 2025, Edwin Cruz Gomez alongside several other men were located outside of the Prima Donna Restaurant on Roosevelt Avenue. The group of men encountered the victim alongside her mother, stepfather, and boyfriend. Allegedly Edwin Cruz Gomez harassed the victim, offering them money for sexual acts and pushing explicitly lewd topics onto them. The alleged harassment led to a physical altercation between the victim’s step father and Edwin Cruz Gomez, the victim and mother had stepped in to separate the two men before the victim and her family walked away. The family walked across the street from Roosevelt Street onto Benham Street. Edwin Cruz Gomez proceeded to enter his vehicle, a Chevrolet Suburban, before allegedly driving onto the sidewalk the victim and her family were walking on. Allegedly the defendant had used his vehicle to pin the victim to a pole against her mother and stepfather. Allegedly Edwin Cruz Gomez then put his vehicle in reverse and collided into an empty parked van. After the collision, the defendant allegedly exited his vehicle and fled from the scene on foot. First responders located the family and transported them to a local hospital where the 16-year-old victim was pronounced as deceased, the cause of death being the injuries sustained from being pinned to the pole. The victim’s mother was also treated for injuries she had been dealt from the incident. Edwin Cruz Gomez had approached an on duty uniformed NYPD officer and reported that he had been assaulted, then leading him to the scene of the incident. A breathalyzer test performed on Edwin Cruz Gomez after the collision showed the defendant had a blood alcohol content between .18 percent and .21 percent which is almost triple the legal limit of .08 percent.
The Queens District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Edwin Cruz Gomez are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
