A Queens grand jury indicted a Bronx man for manslaughter and other related crimes for a fatal hit-and-run collision that killed a Jamaica woman in March.
Darius Adams, 28, is being held without bail after he was arrested at his Mott Haven homeless shelter on July 22 and booked at the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica on Wednesday, July 22. Adams was arraigned the next day in Queens Supreme Court on an indictment charging him with manslaughter in the second degree, assault, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting.
According to the charges and investigation, on March 11, 2026, at 3:04 p.m., Adams was behind the wheel of a 2001 Lincoln LS sedan traveling westbound on Jamaica Avenue near Parson Boulevard. That roadway is restricted to buses only between the hours of 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
An MTA bus, which was properly in the roadway, had stopped to permit Suzanne Schmeider, 58, of Douglas Avenue, to cross the street. Adams allegedly swerved around the bus and struck Schmeider with the impact sending her airborne. When she landed, she slid under a under a parked vehicle. Adams sped away from the scene without rendering aid or calling 911. EMS rushed Schmeider to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Suzanne Schmeider and her husband Joseph Lopez were in the Joseph Addabbo Federal Building in Jamaica applying to move from a shelter into their own apartment when she went for a cup of coffee and was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver.Photo via GoFundMe
At around 11 p.m. that night, Adams called 911 to report that he was having a medical episode. He was standing on a sidewalk near the parked Lincoln and directed police to his identification inside the vehicle which had front end damage, a broken side mirror and scratches along the hood. During a search of the interior, officers found multiple liquor bottles. Fingerprint testing showed the prints belonged to the defendant.
“As alleged, Darius Adams recklessly swerved around a bus in a restricted roadway and struck Suzanne Schmeider, causing her to fly into the air before slamming into the ground and sliding under a parked car,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “The defendant then took off.”
Adams was additionally charged with reckless endangerment, reckless driving and unsafe lane change on a roadway laned for traffic. Adams pled not guilty before Queens Supreme Court Justice Ira Margulis who remanded him into custody without bail and ordered him to return to court on Aug. 13. If convicted, Adams faces more than 15 years in prison.
“Thank you to my Vehicular Homicide Unit for its investigation into this case,” Katz said. “My heart goes out to the victim’s family, and we hope to bring them justice in our courts.”