Elvin Rivera, 57, has been charged with manslaughter and driving while impaired in a crash that killed a 1-year-old boy riding in a stroller in Flushing, after prosecutors said he ran a stop sign with cocaine and THC in his system on the morning of Sunday, October 11.
Rivera, of 150th Place, was charged with second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, second-degree assault, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, driving while ability impaired by the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol and any drug, reckless driving, driving by an unlicensed operator and related charges, ABC7ny reported.
The crash happened at about 8:35 a.m. at Murray Street and 32nd Avenue in the Murray Hill section of Flushing, QNS reported. Rivera was driving a white 2016 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck north on Murray Street when he rolled through a stop sign without stopping, accelerated through the intersection and struck a stroller being pushed by a nanny, QNS reported. The child and the nanny were in a marked crosswalk with the right of way.
The boy, identified by QNS as 1-year-old Justin Hu, was taken by EMS to Jacobi Hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead, QNS reported. The nanny, 69, was taken to New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition with damage to her right arm. The crash occurred three blocks from the child’s home on Bayside Avenue, according to QNS.
Rivera remained at the scene and was taken into custody by police from the 109th Precinct, QNS reported. He failed a field sobriety test, and a drug test administered at the scene detected cocaine and THC in his system.
“This heartbreaking loss of this baby was completely avoidable,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said, according to ABC7ny. “As alleged, Elvin Rivera got behind the wheel of his pickup truck on a Sunday morning while impaired by both cocaine and THC. He then recklessly ran a stop sign, accelerated through the intersection and plowed into a 1-year-old boy who was being pushed in a stroller and killed the child.”
Rivera has an open DWI case in the Bronx from April 2026, ABC7ny reported.
He was arraigned Monday in Queens Criminal Court before Judge Michael Katz, who remanded him without bail and ordered him to return to court on Monday, October 19, QNS reported. Rivera pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Rivera faces a maximum of five to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top charge, according to ABC7ny.
“Tragically, innocent victims are killed every day in this country due to drugged and reckless driving, and my office will aggressively seek justice for Justin Hu and his family,” Katz said, according to QNS.
