An Elmhurst man who died in a Christmas morning car crash on a local street had apparently suffered a heart attack while behind the wheel, police reported.
Law enforcement sources said the collision occurred at 1:19 a.m. on Dec. 25 at the corner of Elbertson Street and Roosevelt Avenue.
According to police, 50-year-old Wilfredo Alvarez of Lamont Avenue was driving a 1991 Honda Civic westbound on Roosevelt Avenue when he was stricken with an “apparent cardiac episode.” This caused him to lose control of his vehicle, which then slammed into an unoccupied Toyota Rav 4 SUV.
Officers from the 110th Precinct and EMS units responded to a 911 call about the crash. Upon arrival, they found Alvarez unconscious and unresponsive in the driver’s seat of the Civic. Paramedics rushed him to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The NYPD Highway Patrol Collision Investigation Squad is still looking into the case.
