By Noah Powelson
The trial of a 22-year-old charged in the death of a 3-year-old child in Queens officially began on Wednesday.
A jury was selected and began to hear the opening arguments in the case of Kevin Gomez, a 22-year-old Masbeth man accused of negligently running over and killing three-year-old Quintus Chen in 2023. Gomez faces a 14-count indictment, including manslaughter charges, after he allegedly pulled his parked car forward onto College Point Boulevard right as the young Chen had wandered off the sidewalk onto the road in front of the car.
The Queen’s district attorney’s office argued Chen’s head would have been visible over the top of the car’s hood, and Gomez had a clear line of sight on the child. The DA’s office also said the boy was dragged approximately 10 feet down the road, while Gomez continued to drive on and flee the scene.
At the heart of the case will be the variety of video evidence documented the moments before, during and after the collision. Surveillance footage taken from the Dunkin’ Donuts where the collision occurred, as well as footage from another building across the street, captured the moment Chen was hit by the car and will be played for the jury.
Attorneys also said police body camera footage of responding officers will be displayed, and the jury will view footage of Chen’s body after the collision.
While both sides will be making ample use of video evidence, their explanations for the tragedy couldn’t be more different.
At Queens Criminal Courthouse on Wednesday, Queens Assistant District Attorney Ryan Licciardello claimed Gomez’ had a history of reckless driving, and that the defendant’s illegally tinted black windows resulted in the defendant 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.
Licciardello said Chen would have been visible to any driver, but said Gomez irresponsibly accelerated, turned onto the road without signaling and ran over the child without stopping to check what or who he hit.
“Quintus’ head and shoulders were above the hood of the car, in clear view,” Licciardello told the jury on Wednesday. “That did not deter the defendant.”
Licciardello also said Gomez did not have a license, the vehicle he was driving that night wasn’t registered and he had illegally parked before hitting Chen. But what’s more, Licciardello said the vehicle’s windows were tinted so dark that little to no light could pass through, obstructing Gomez’s vision when he allegedly struck Chen.
Licciardello told the jury Gomez had already gotten in trouble while driving in February 2023, when he was pulled over for his windows being too dark, and was fined for driving without a license.
“That car was never supposed to be on a Queens County street,” Licciardello said. “That’s why we are here today, and Quintus is not.”
Gomez’ attorney, Todd Greenberg, admitted upfront that his client was guilty of driving an unregistered car with illegally tinted windows without a license, but he refuted the accusation that Chen’s death was a result of Gomez’ negligence.
Greenberg said that night, Gomez had proven to be a “reasonable and prudent driver” under the circumstances, and argued video evidence and testimony of police officers proved he had been driving safely and responsibly even with the tinted windows.
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.
Greenberg also said that even if Chen would have been visible, it would have only been for a split second before the boy fell under the car.
As for why Gomez didn’t stop after the collision, Greenberg said he intended to prove the car striking Chen did not leave enough impact to be noticeable.
“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.”
When looking for someone to blame for the boy’s death, Greenberg pointed the finger at Chen’s father, Jimmy Chen, accusing him of irresponsibly letting his son wander into danger.
Greenberg claimed that video evidence will prove that earlier that night, young Chen was almost hit by a different driver who, unlike Gomez, stopped in time. Greenberg said the evidence will also show Chen’s father letting his son run 10 feet ahead of him, and that he wasn’t controlling Chen when he wandered in front of Gomez’ car.
“The facts of this case will show that the cause of this death is due to the father’s actions, not Kevin’s,” Greenberg said.
Jimmy Chen is scheduled to testify during the trial.
The trial will play out throughout the week, and likely most of next week.
If convicted, Gomez could be sentenced to 15 years in prison.
“There are few threats to public safety more lethal than an unlicensed driver operating an unregistered, uninsured vehicle at night with a windshield and windows tinted so dark you can barely see through them in broad daylight,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a 2023 statement when Gomez was first indicted. “We will show in court that the horrifying death of 3-year-old Quintus Chen was the result of the defendant’s recklessness, irresponsibility and indifference to human life.”