{"id":228328,"date":"2025-09-15T09:00:54","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T09:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/228328\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T09:00:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T09:00:54","slug":"mondays-headlines-cars-are-weapons-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/228328\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday&#8217;s Headlines: Cars Are Weapons Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In what is possibly the most horrifying crash in a year of horrifying crashes, 38-year-old Edwin Cruz-Gomez allegedly purposefully struck and killed 16-year-old Jhoanny Gomez-Alvarez in Jackson Heights after an argument over what some reports said was &#8220;lewd&#8221; comment the man made about the teenager.<\/p>\n<p>Cruz-Gomez allegedly cat-called Gomez-Alvarez, which sparked &#8220;an argument&#8221; with her mother and two others in their party, the Daily News reported.<\/p>\n<p>As group walked away, Cruz-Gomez hopped in his car and aimed his Chevy Suburban for the victim and her family, police said. Cruz-Gomez attempted to flee only to be caught &#8220;shortly afterward,&#8221; <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/09\/13\/nyregion\/girl-struck-suv-queens.html\" target=\"_blank\">the Times said<\/a>. The incident occurred at around 4:15 a.m. The girl&#8217;s mother, 32, suffered injuries as well.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-573567\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/roosecelt-ave-crash-still.png\"   loading=\"lazy\"\/>Video still via <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/post\/driver-charged-murder-16-year-old-girl-struck-killed-mother-injured-elmhurst-queens-nyc\/17814299\/\" target=\"_blank\">ABC 7 NY<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He was driving, then he makes a turn and he hits the girl. He did it on purpose,&#8221; one witness told the Daily News.<\/p>\n<p>Legally speaking, Cruz-Gomez should not have been behind the wheel \u2014 he had a suspended license from a drunk driving charge earlier this year, The Post reported \u2014 but the law has no teeth when unlicensed drivers can get into any vehicle and harm innocents. And none of the mounds of coverage so far has called attention to his choice of weapon, or how easy it was for him to access it in defiance of the law.<\/p>\n<p>Cruz-Gomez was charged with murder, attempted murder, driving while intoxicated and fleeing the scene of a crash. <\/p>\n<p>In other news:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Yet another <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/nyc.streetsblog.org\/2025\/07\/16\/former-nypd-boss-says-deadly-high-speed-chases-were-result-of-rogue-adams-insiders\" target=\"_blank\">NYPD chase<\/a> resulted in injuries to an innocent pedestrian bystander. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amny.com\/news\/brooklyn-police-pursuit-pedestrian-struck-09142025\/\" target=\"_blank\">amNY<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>WNYC\/Gothamist <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/nyc-cyclists-protect-kids-headed-to-school-in-brooklyns-bergen-bike-bus\" target=\"_blank\">rode along<\/a> with the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bergenbikebus\" target=\"_blank\">Bergen Bike Bus<\/a>. <\/li>\n<li>New York City is really, really expensive. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/graphics\/2025-nyc-wealthy-renters-housing-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\">Bloomberg<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Bus-mounted traffic enforcement cameras launch on the Bx20, Bx3, Bx7 and Q6 on Monday with a 60-day grace period. The cameras snap bus lane and bike lane blockers. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/bus-lane-cameras-coming-to-4-more-nyc-routes-starting-monday\" target=\"_blank\">Gothamist<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>LIRR strike vote results will be announced on Monday. A strike could start as soon as Thursday. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amny.com\/nyc-transit\/mta-plans-for-lirr-riders-wake-of-looming-strike\/\" target=\"_blank\">amNY<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/the-lirr-could-shut-down-next-week-as-contract-negotiations-break-down-strike-looms\" target=\"_blank\">Gothamist<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Cars are scarier&#8221; than mass transit, Kate Aronoff writes. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/200352\/republicans-mass-transit-dangerous-cars-scarier\" target=\"_blank\">New Republic<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Delivery workers rallied against app deactivations and lockouts. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amny.com\/news\/deliveristas-city-hall-rally-black-apps-firing\/\" target=\"_blank\">amNY<\/a>, Streetsblog)<\/li>\n<li>Related: The City Council is &#8220;in the driver&#8217;s seat&#8221; on labor and vendor policies. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crainsnewyork.com\/politics-policy\/veto-overrides-show-city-council-steering-citys-labor-and-vendor-policies\" target=\"_blank\">Crain&#8217;s<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>A driver struck and dragged a man to his death as the victim attempted to cross the Belt Parkway on foot, cops said. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/patch.com\/new-york\/west-village\/s\/jm3a3\/man-fatally-struck-dragged-by-car-on-belt-parkway-in-queens?utm_source=local-update&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=alert&amp;user_email=2a148eb58e264f5575410d049f8e8e404d8febc5d66b32eb7d0a35c9ebb7f844&amp;user_email_md5=4248ad948410c44dd7bd25cffda6fb05&amp;lctg=5d2ce5866c28c774bb5fa80d\" target=\"_blank\">Patch<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>RPA <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/rpa.org\/news\/lab\/status-of-new-york-congestion-pricing-litigation\" target=\"_blank\">ran through<\/a> all the open lawsuits against congestion pricing.<\/li>\n<li>The Staten Island Railway is 100 percent brand new R211 cars now. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=j3GMwxhdGjU\" target=\"_blank\">CBS New York via YouTube<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amny.com\/news\/new-subway-cars-make-staten-islands-only-train\/\" target=\"_blank\">amNY<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>New Yorkers play casino whack-a-mole as eight proposals seek approval at once. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/politicsny.com\/2025\/09\/11\/fireworks-at-second-hearing-on-ballys-casino-plan-for-throggs-neck-as-marmorato-voices-concerns-over-hecklers\/\" target=\"_blank\">Politics NY<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amny.com\/news\/jay-z-backed-times-square-casino-faces-broadways-refusal-to-share-the-spotlight-at-final-public-hearing\/\" target=\"_blank\">amNY<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brooklynpaper.com\/locals-largely-condemn-coney-casino-hearing\/\" target=\"_blank\">Brooklyn Paper<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>The Trump administration has found the next big shiny object in transportation: flying cars. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/09\/12\/business\/trump-air-taxi-faa.html\" target=\"_blank\">NY Times<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>&#8230; while Sean Duffy has his sights set on the moon. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/ill-be-damned-if-thats-the-story-we-write-acting-nasa-administrator-duffy-vows-not-to-lose-moon-race-to-china\" target=\"_blank\">Space.com<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>An Amtrak-Vornado &#8220;pissing match&#8221; thwarted the reopening of Tracks at Penn Station. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crainsnewyork.com\/transportation\/penn-reopening-tracks-raw-bar-grill-was-held-over-pissing-match-between-vornado-and\" target=\"_blank\">Crain&#8217;s<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In what is possibly the most horrifying crash in a year of horrifying crashes, 38-year-old Edwin Cruz-Gomez allegedly&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":228329,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-228328","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115207503074894240","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}