A Queens grand jury indicted a Flushing man on charges of manslaughter, driving while ability impaired and other crimes for accelerating through a stop sign in Murray Hill and fatally striking a 1-year-old boy last month.
Elvin Rivera, 57, of 150th Place, was arraigned Friday in Queens Supreme Court on a 12-count indictment charging him with manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, assault, failure to exercise due care, failing to stop at a sign, operating or driving a motor vehicle without a license, operating a motor vehicle while impaired by use of drugs, operating a motor vehicle while impaired by combined use of drugs or of alcohol and drugs, operating a motor vehicle in violation of a restricted permit or license, failure to yield, operating a motor vehicle with a conditional license for any use other than those authorized and reckless driving.
According to the charges, at 8:35 a.m. on Oct. 11, Rivera was behind the wheel of a white 2016 Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck northbound on Murray Street toward 32nd Avenue. Rivera rolled through a stop sign on 32nd Avenue without stopping, accelerated through the intersection and struck and ran over the youngster who was seated in a stroller which was being pushed by his nanny. They were in the marked crosswalk with the right of way.
EMS responded to the scene and rushed Justin Hu to Jacobi Hospital in critical condition, where he was later pronounced dead. The 69-year-old nanny was transported by EMS to New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition, with damage to her right arm.
Rivera remained at the scene and was taken into custody by police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing without further incident. Rivera failed a field sobriety test and a drug test administered at the scene detected cocaine and THC in his system. Rivera has an open DWI case in the Bronx from April 2026 which led to restrictions on when and where he was permitted to drive. At the time he allegedly struck the child, Rivera was driving in violation of those restrictions.
“As alleged, Elvin Rivera made the selfish decision to get behind the wheel while impaired by both cocaine and THC,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “He then drove through a residential Flushing intersection where he sped past a stop sign into the opposite crosswalk. Justin Hu, who was being taken for a stroll on a Sunday morning, never had a chance.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Hartofilis set bail at $250,000 cash and $300,000 bond with electronic monitoring and ordered Rivera to return to court on Jan. 27, 2027. If convicted of the top charge, he faces up to five to 15 years in prison.
“A grand jury has now indicted Rivera for manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and other crimes,” Katz said. “Our thoughts are with Justin’s family as they mourn this unimaginable loss.”
