Maspeth man found not guilty in hit-and-run that caused child’s death

Kevin Gomez was found not guilty of felony manslaughter charges for the death of three-year-old Quintus Chen, but was convicted of lesser misdemeanor charges. Prosecutors say Gomez ran over Chen with his car in Flushing in 2023.Photo via Google Maps

By Noah Powelson

A Queens man managed to avoid a felony conviction after a jury found him not guilty for the death of a three-year-old boy on Friday.

Kevin Gomez, 22, was found not guilty of manslaughter after he was accused of negligently running over and killing three-year-old Quintus Chen in 2023. Gomez was found guilty on misdemeanor charges for reckless driving, driving an unregistered vehicle and other charges, and will face a lesser sentence in the weeks to come.

The jury deliberated for four days after an emotional two-week trial that included testimony from investigators, forensic experts and the victim’s father. The jury was also subject to several videos of the collision that took the young boy’s life, as well as photos of his body.

Prosecutors said Gomez’ had a history of reckless driving, and that the defendant’s illegally tinted black windows resulted in him killing the young boy then fleeing the scene before police could respond.

According to prosecutors, the windshield had a light transmittance of 11 percent and the driver’s side window had a light transmittance of 0 percent, both below the 70 percent legal threshold.

Queens Assistant District Attorney Ryan Licciardello claimed Gomez would have complete visibility of Chen’s head and shoulders over the hood of the car, but accelerated anyway and ran over the child without stopping.

“Quintus’ head and shoulders were above the hood of the car, in clear view,” Licciardello told the jury during opening arguments. “That did not deter the defendant.”

Gomez’ attorney, Todd Greenberg, refuted the prosecution's argument and claimed Gomez had displayed himself a reasonable and competent driver that night.

Greenberg argued that Gomez didn’t see Chen because he was looking for an opportunity to safely merge onto the busy College Point Boulevard. As Gomez was looking out the left side of his car watching oncoming traffic, Greenberg said Chen had wandered onto the road in the front right of the car at the exact moment outside of the defendant’s view.

“There is no crime, it’s a tragedy,” Greenberg said. “This isn’t a case of [Gomez] couldn’t see because of the tints, but he didn’t see because he was being a reasonable driver.”

The point was emphasized on cross examination of one of the investigators of the incident, who in his initial report listed the accident as “pedestrian error.”

Greenberg said if anyone could be blamed for the accident it would be Chen’s father, Jimmy Chen, who was with his son that night. Greenberg argued that his client had driven reasonably and carefully, and Chen was hit because Jimmy Chen could not control him as he wandered into the road.

Jimmy Chen took the stand during the trial and identified photos and videos of his son. He was not cross examined.

In a phone call with the Eagle, Greenberg said he and Gomez wanted to express their sympathy for Jimmy Chen and the family.

“We’re heartbroken for the father’s loss,” Greenberg said.

A spokesperson for the Queens district attorney’s office said, “We respect the jury’s verdict.”

Gomez could have seen 15 years prison time if he was convicted of manslaughter, but with the acquittal, he is likely to face either one year jail time or probation.

Gomez is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 10.