01 December 2023 , 11:55
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A three-year-old boy has been killed after being mown down by a reversing car while his father watched on in horror.
And following the shocking incident a man aged 20 has been arrested and taken into custody for allegedly being the driver behind a 2014 white Infiniti Q50 sedan which struck Quintas Chen on Wednesday night. The incident happened in a Dunkin Donuts carpark in an area is known to be highly hazardous to pedestrians.
Cops said Kevin Gomez was arrested just past 4pm not far from the scene where he is accused of running over the boy before driving away at around 6.40pm on Wednesday. He has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident and driving without a licence.
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Quintas Chen was killed by a reversing car (CBS New York)The incident took place in Queens, New York, and police told DailyMail.com the toddler was crossing the middle of the street on College Point Boulevard when the driver was pulling away from their parking spot. The victim and his family were heading home from a doctor's appointment. Quintas Chen crossed in front of the vehicle and the sedan's left front tires struck the boy.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
The suspect, of Maspeth, continued to drive away from the scene and Quintas was taken to New York-Presbyterian Queens where he was pronounced dead. Officials later found the Infiniti abandoned a few blocks away from the incident. Dad Jimmy Chen told CBS: "He was a sweet boy. He was very adorable. He's so loving. We miss him so much." Karen Ng, his heartbroken mother, described her son as a "cute and adorable" boy, and said: "I don't think I spent enough time with him. His teachers say he learns pretty fast."
Cops cordoned off the scene of the shocking incident (CBS New York)Queens Assemblyman Ron Kim said the tragedy was every parent's "worst nightmare" and said that an incident like this "could've happened to any of us". Talking about the grieving parents, he said: "Obviously, they're in complete shock and traumatised. They want to make sure that everyone's held accountable and there's justice for what happened to their child."
And he added that the area where the youngster was hit is dangerous. He said: "I know how dangerous it is on College Point, as you can see, the vehicles are parked and backing out every day, it is not a safe sidewalk for families."
Father Jimmy Chen says his family is devastated and they will miss his son 'so much' (CBS New York)
The area of the incident is know to be dangerous for pedestrians (CBS New York)Officials believe the car was parked illegally in a no standing zone outside of what's known as a chaotic strip mall. The active driveway nearby is commonly blocked as pedestrians weave in and out of traffic jams and the incident sparked a reaction from another Flushing family whose three-year-old was hit and killed blocks away 10 years ago. Amy Tam-Liao, founder of Families for Safe Streets, said: "I know the unimaginable heartache and I'm outraged another family has to experience what we endured." The NYPD’s Highway District Collision Investigation Squad is continuing to investigate the crash.