The police have nabbed an alleged hit-and-run driver who was wanted for fatally striking 5-year-old Jonathan Martinez, pictured, in East Elmhurst earlier this month (Photos: GoFundMe, NYPD and Unsplash)
Sept. 21, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
The police have nabbed an alleged hit-and-run driver who was wanted for fatally striking a 5-year-old boy in East Elmhurst earlier this month.
Xavier Carchipull, 40, of Astoria, was arrested and charged Wednesday with leaving the scene of a fatal crash and driving without a license—after he allegedly plowed a white pickup truck into victim Jonathan Martinez on Sept. 1.
Carchipull, who was driving a 2018 Dodge Ram, hit Martinez as he was attempting to cross 100th Street – near the intersection of McIntosh Street — with his father and two brothers, according to police and published reports.
Martinez was holding his father’s hand at the time of the deadly incident, according to video footage and reports. His father pulled him back as he saw the Dodge turning, but the vehicle struck the boy and dragged him, according to CBS New York.
Carchipull then fled the scene — as Martinez’s family looked on in horror. The family lived about two blocks away from where the boy was struck.
Martinez suffered severe trauma to his head and torso but could not be saved.
Police slapped Carchipull with other charges including operating a vehicle that wasn’t insured, registered or inspected.
Carchipull, who works as a construction worker and lives on 33rd Street, has been arrested on at least two occasions for drunk driving, police said.
He was scheduled to be arraigned before Queens Criminal Court Wednesday, police said.
Jonathan Martinez, pictured, was killed as he attempted to cross 100th Street in East Elmhurst (Photo GoFundMe)
The 2018 Dodge Ram allegedly used in the hit-and-run incident (Photo: NYPD)
