Driver Charged After Boy Killed in Queens Hit-and-Run
A driver in a Dodge pickup hit and killed 5-year-old Jonathan Martinez at 100 Street and McIntosh Street in Queens on Sept. 1, 2022, then left as his family watched, police and news reports said.
What We Know
At 5:28 p.m. on Sept. 1, 2022, a crash at 100 Street and McIntosh Street in Queens killed a 5-year-old pedestrian who was crossing at the intersection. News reports identified him as Jonathan Martinez and said he was with family when a driver in a white Dodge Ram pickup hit him and left. Police later arrested Xavier Carchipull, 40, and said he had been behind the wheel of a 2018 Dodge Ram 1500. Reports differ on the pickup's approach and turn, but they place the fatal hit-and-run at the same East Elmhurst intersection and say Jonathan died after medics took him to Elmhurst Hospital.
A family crossing ended in a fatal hit-and-run
City crash records show that the crash happened at 5:28 p.m. on Sept. 1, 2022, at 100 Street and McIntosh Street in Queens, where one pedestrian, a 5-year-old boy, was killed while crossing at the intersection.
Police and news reports identified the child as Jonathan Martinez. The New York Post reported that he was crossing with his parents when the driver of a white Dodge pickup turned and hit him; the Daily News reported his father was holding his hand and a 10-year-old boy was also present.
The Post and Daily News reported that medics took Jonathan to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead after suffering severe head and torso injuries. The driver left the scene.
Accounts differed on the driver's path
The city vehicle record lists a pickup driver traveling south and making a left turn before impact. News accounts differed: QNS reported a preliminary police account in which the driver traveled north on McIntosh Street and turned south onto 100th Street, while the Daily News described the driver turning left onto McIntosh Street. Each account places the crash at 100th Street and McIntosh Street.
Jonathan Martinez was remembered as joyful
News reports said Jonathan lived near the scene. A GoFundMe quoted by QNS described him as "the sweetest and brightest boy" and said he "loved singing and dancing and worshiping the lord."
Jonathan's father, Richard Martinez, told the Post that the family had been coming home from the park. He recalled, "I pulled my other children back but didn’t get to my third child Johnathan in time."
Police later arrested a driver
On Sept. 21, police arrested Xavier Carchipull, 40, at his Queens home and charged him with leaving the scene resulting in death, aggravated unlicensed operation, and operating a motor vehicle without inspection, insurance or registration.
After the arrest, Jonathan's mother, Jennifer Erez, told the Daily News, "We just want justice. We’ve been praying for this moment."
An East Elmhurst block near a school and playground
The crash happened at 100th Street and McIntosh Street in East Elmhurst, near Helen Marshall Playground and P.S. 127 Aerospace Science Magnet School, QNS reported. The Post reported that Jonathan lived about a block from the scene; QNS reported that he lived two blocks away.
QNS reported that, according to a preliminary police investigation, McIntosh Street had recently been repaved and did not yet have center-line or crosswalk markings painted.