Queens Driver Charged: 8-Year-Old Boy Fatally Struck

Queens police have charged the driver in a deadly collision on Wednesday night that claimed the life of an 8-year-old boy, the NYPD reported.

Officers from the 115th Precinct responded to a 911 call at 4:15 p.m. on March 13 at 31st Avenue and 100th Street in East Elmhurst and found the boy, Bayron Palomino Arroyo of East Elmhurst, in the roadway unconscious and unresponsive, with traumatic injuries to his body. He was pronounced dead on scene by first responders.

Meanwhile, his 10-year-old brother was transported to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital with minor injuries to his wrist.

Police said the boys were struck by 52-year-old Jose Barcia of Flushing, who was turning left onto 100th Street in his pickup truck as the boys were crossing the street with their mother. He allegedly collided with the two boys — and, in the process, ran over 8-year-old Bayron, crushing him underneath the truck’s tires.

Barcia was arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide, failure to yield to a pedestrian, failure to exercise due care, and speeding.

“This incident, as tragic as it is, was avoidable. When making turns, especially left turns, you must always yield to both vehicles and pedestrians,” said NYPD Transportation Chief Philip Rivera. “Because of this poor decision, a family trying to enjoy a beautiful day will never be the same.”

Local State Sen. Jessica Ramos said in a statement, with advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, that too many people are needlessly driving cars, especially large ones like SUVs and pickup trucks, in her district, and said there should be a higher bar for getting and maintaining a drivers’ license.

“We need to have a serious conversation about who is awarded the great responsibility of driving in our neighborhoods,” said Ramos. “It is clear that drivers should be retested frequently, as too many deaths have been the result of a failure to yield to pedestrians crossing the street.”

Just 20 minutes earlier, and two miles away in Jackson Heights, police said a 58-year-old man was struck by a Nissan driver as they turned left onto 72nd Street from 37th Avenue. The man was taken to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition, police said.

And, in another Queens traffic death, 43-year-old pedestrian Natalia Garcia Valencia was fatally struck on Tuesday in Middle Village by the driver of a Department of Environmental Protection truck.