Busted For Accident On Elmhurst/J.H. Border
Previously convicted of drunk driving, a Florida man was cuffed last Saturday, July 5, after he allegedly ran down and killed a pedestrian while inebriated behind the wheel on the Elmhurst/Jackson Heights border, police reported.
Law enforcement sources identified the suspect as 42-year-old Romulo Mejia of 18th Street West in Bradenton, Fla.
Police have not released the identity of the victim, a 42-year-old male, pending family notification.
Reportedly, the accident occurred at 4:30 a.m. last Saturday at the corner of 92nd Street and Roosevelt Avenue.
According to information obtained by authorities, the pedestrian was walking across Roosevelt Avenue when he was hit by Mejia, who was driving a vehicle while riding with a 35-year-old female passenger.
Members of the 110th Precinct and EMS units rushed to the scene. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the location.
Mejia and the female passenger were rushed by paramedics to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where they were listed in stable condition with injuries not considered lifethreatening.
Based on its inquiry, the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad booked Meija last Saturday on charges of vehicular manslaughter with a previous conviction for DWI, criminally negligent homicide, aggravated unlicensed operator and DWI with a previous conviction in the past 10 years.
Court records indicated Mejia was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Sunday, July 6, before Judge Deborah Stevens-Modica, who ordered him held on $200,000 bail. The suspect is scheduled to return to court on July 31.
