A Flushing man was indicted by a Queens grand jury in a fatal collision that killed an 8-year-old boy in East Elmhurst last month.
Jose Barcia, 52, is accused of speeding through a crosswalk while making a left turn, killing Bayron Palomino Arroyo and injuring his 10-year-old brother Bradley on Mar. 13. The grand jury indictment was filed on Apr. 18, and Barcia will be arraigned on May 2, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
According to the criminal complaint, at approximately 4:15 p.m. on Mar. 13, Barcia was driving a gray Nissan Titan pickup truck westbound on 31st Avenue when he came to a stop at a steady red light at the intersection at 100th Street.
Video surveillance shows that when the light turned green, Barcia proceeded to make a left turn onto southbound 100th Street while speeding without yielding to oncoming traffic.
As Barcia approached the marked crosswalk, the young brothers and their mother were crossing the street with the right of way and a walk signal in their favor when Barcia struck the two children. Bayron was run over and pronounced dead at the scene by first responders. EMS transported his brother Bradley to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens with an injury to his wrist as well as bruising and pain to his head.
“Both victims in this case, the boy who died and his brother, were with their mother crossing the street with the light in their favor in broad daylight,” Katz said. “This tragedy was completely avoidable if not for the alleged recklessness of the defendant.”
Barcia remained at the scene and was taken into custody and booked at the 115th Precinct in Jackson Heights later that evening. He was previously charged in a criminal complaint on Mar. 14 with criminally negligent homicide, failing to yield to oncoming traffic while making a left turn, disobeying speed restrictions, two counts of failing to provide the right of way to pedestrians and two counts of failing to exercise due care.
“Obeying road safety regulations is not a choice. It is the law. And more than that, it is a personal obligation to safeguard everyone we encounter on our shared roadways,” Katz said. “The grand jury handed up an indictment on serious charges against this defendant. I continue to send my deepest condolences to the young victims’ loved ones.”
The investigation was conducted by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad and the Queens District Attorney’s Vehicular Homicide Unit. Barcia faces up to four years in prison if convicted.
