The crazed drunk driver accused of mowing down a 16-year-old girl on a Queens sidewalk after she rejected his lewd advances chillingly asked police, “Did I kill her?” after the tragic incident, prosecutors revealed Sunday.
Driving with a suspended license, Edwin Cruz-Gomez, 38, allegedly plowed a 2009 Chevy Suburban into teen Jhoanny Alvarez following a heated fight with the girl, her boyfriend, her mother, and stepfather on Saturday morning outside Prima Donna Restaurant in Elmhurst.
Alvarez was leaving the restaurant after a family event with her three loved ones when Cruz-Gomez began to sexually harass her and her mother, Assistant District Attorney Abigail Neumiller said during his Queens criminal court arraignment Sunday night.
Cruz-Gomez, with a group of several other men present, allegedly began to make statements such as “I want to have sex with you,” and “If I gave you money, will you have sex with me?” Neumiller told the courtroom.
The lewd statements led to an altercation with Alvarez’s stepfather, which became “physical,” prosecutors said.
Once the fight was broken up by bystanders, Cruz-Gomez “took it upon himself” to enter his car, which was double-parked on Roosevelt Avenue, and floored it at a “high rate of speed,” Neumiller detailed.
He allegedly “intentionally maneuvered” his vehicle so that he entered a one-way street going the wrong direction, drove up onto a sidewalk, around a pole, then hit three out of four of his targets — killing the young high school student.
“The 16-year-old was hit so hard that she was impaled,” Neumiller said.
He then allegedly proceeded in reverse against the posted direction until he struck an unoccupied van, abandoned his SUV, and fled the scene. He was later approached by cops and told them he had been assaulted, authorities revealed.
After leading cops back to the crime scene, he allegedly told police he hit the pole and admitted to not having a license. Authorities said he was “extremely intoxicated” and had a blood alcohol level of 0.137 — nearly twice the legal limit — four hours after the collision.
“They beat me up over there. It happened over here. Listen, I am not going to jail. They beat me up outside this bar because I said something about a girl,” Cruz-Gomez allegedly said.
“I was talking to a guy about a girl. It happened over here. I was driving. I hit a pole. Her boyfriend beat me up. I was talking to a guy about meeting girls. I may have said the wrong thing. I was upset. She was saying ‘No fighting,’” he continued.
“I don’t know her. I got in my car. I followed them. I crashed my car into a pole. I was going 25 miles an hour. I don’t have a license. Did I kill her?”
The maniac driver was scowling in light blue shorts and a navy T-shirt throughout the entirety of the 10-minute court hearing as the troubling details emerged.
Cruz-Gomez was hit with a slew of charges, including second-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder in the second degree, two counts of assault in the second degree, vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, and other driving under the influence-related charges during the court hearing.
“The defendant pinned the teen against a pole with his vehicle and injured her mother and stepfather as he barreled his 3-ton vehicle into them. This defendant is now charged with murder and related crimes, and we will seek justice for Alvarez and her family,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
Alvarez’s mother also sustained leg injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Earlier in the year, Cruz-Gomez had been charged with driving while intoxicated on the Southern State Parkway in Long Island, according to court papers obtained by The Post.
His license was suspended following the Jan. 26 incident.
Six months later, he was caught speeding and driving with a suspended license by Nassau County cops, court records show.
He was later granted a conditional license, prosecutors said in court.
He was set to appear in Nassau County District Court next month for both cases.
Judge Lana Schlesinger ordered Gomez-Cruz to be held without bail and for his conditional license to be suspended.
If convicted, Cruz-Gomez faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
He will return to court on September 19.
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