SUV Driver Charged with Homicide for Killing 7-Year-Old Queens Girl
An SUV driver was arrested for criminally negligent homicide after failing to stop at a sign and fatally striking a 7-year-old girl in Queens.
May 9, 2023
Nearly three months after striking a young child at a Queens intersection, an SUV driver was apprehended by law enforcement for criminally negligent homicide. Officers concluded that 46-year-old Claudia Mendez-Vasquez failed to stop at a sign before the fatal incident on February 17. The seven-year-old victim, Dolma Naadhun, was hit near Newtown Road and 45th St. in Astoria.
The young girl sustained severe injuries, impacting her head on the roadway. Despite receiving immediate medical care, she could not be saved at Elmhurst Hospital. Detectives explained that the suspect drove through the intersection without stopping as she crossed 45th St., a short distance from the victim's residence.
Witnesses recall hearing screams and finding the child unconscious in the street. The victim's mother was desperately crying for help, pushing through onlookers to reach her dying daughter. Meanwhile, Mendez-Vasquez remained on site with her son and two other passengers, who labeled the tragic event as an "accident".