A Sunnyside woman allegedly drove drunk and struck an 8-year-old girl and the girl’s grandmother as they crossed a street in Woodside Tuesday. The woman’s mangled car (L) and debris on the road (R) (Photos Citizen)
July 1, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
A Sunnyside woman has been charged with vehicular assault and a slew of other crimes after she allegedly drove drunk and plowed into an 8-year-old girl and the girl’s grandmother as they crossed a street in Woodside Tuesday. She then smashed her car into two vehicles before coming to a stop.
Alexandra Lopez, 52, of 45th Street, allegedly got behind the wheel of a 2020 Toyota RAV 4 while intoxicated and hit the girl and her 74-year-old grandmother while they were crossing at the intersection of 68th Street and 31st Avenue at around 6:50 p.m., according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
According to the charges, Lopez continued driving after hitting the pair in an attempt to flee the scene. She then swerved across the double yellow lines and slammed into two cars – a 2018 Honda and 2020 Hyundai. She then came to a stop on the side of the road, flush against the sidewalk.
When police arrived at the scene, they found the young girl crying and screaming underneath the front of a parked van. Her head, face and clothes were covered in blood, and she had scratches on her feet.
The girl suffered serious injuries including a broken nose, head trauma, and liver damage while her grandmother is recovering from trauma and swelling to her legs, prosecutors said. They are both still being treated in the hospital.
Police found Lopez sitting in the driver’s seat of her vehicle with the engine running.
Video from the scene shows the RAV 4 stuck against the sidewalk with its hood smashed in and a front tire blown. Debris can be seen strewn across the middle of the road and there are tire marks leading to the vehicle.
Lopez was arrested at the scene and taken to the 112th NYPD precinct in Forest Hills.
Officers at the precinct noticed Lopez smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot watery eyes and was swaying on her feet. A breathalyzer test showed that Lopez had a blood alcohol content nearly two and half times the legal limit.
Lopez was arraigned before Queens Criminal Court Thursday night and has been charged with vehicular assault, reckless driving, assault, driving under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of an incident.
She faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted.
“Few choices are more selfish than taking the wheel while under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “A young girl is now seriously injured, and her grandmother is recovering from trauma sustained from the car crash.”
“The defendant will face justice in our courts for her callous actions.”
Lopez was ordered back to court on Aug. 18.
The driver’s mangled car (Photos Citizen)
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28 Comments
Just all very sad. There has been a huge rise in car accidents and deaths ever since outside dining , drinks to go and the legalization of weed in this city. Also, Heavy marijuana use among youths is leading to more addiction and antisocial behavior. Please do not drink or smoke weed and get behind the wheel or ride a bike. Cops are not doing much about it so its on all of us to be careful and make good decisions. Happy 4th of July.
Carolyn- There is way too much misinformation in your post.
You should really provide sources for both of these claims :
There has been a huge rise in car accidents and deaths ever since outside dining , drinks to go and the legalization of weed in this city. Also, Heavy marijuana use among youths is leading to more addiction and antisocial behavior
No one will come out and say it for now. But you can clearly conclude that drinking and getting high leads to disorderly conduct. Just three examples of what happens almost daily in nyc. “The police department said that dispatchers are answering thousands of more quality of life calls. In the latest quarter, 6,000 more New Yorkers dialed 911 to complain about loud disorderly groups, lawlessness, drinking in public. The complaints led to officers writing up 9,000 more summonses.”
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/nyc-shootings-and-murders-are-down-but-overall-crime-is-up-for-2022-nypd/3766036/
Data shows deadly crashes in New York City are up 44% compared to last year.
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nyc-traffic-related-deaths-2022/#:~:text=Local%20News-,Data%20shows%20deadly%20crashes%20in%20New%20York%20City,44%25%20compared%20to%20last%20year&text=NEW%20YORK%20%2D%2D%20Sobering%20statistics,2022%2C%20crashes%20killed%2059%20people.
This video went viral.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/watch-customers-trash-nyc-restaurant-during-tirade-over-french-fries-toppings-charge/3765637/
Carolyn – “ There has been a huge rise in car accidents and deaths ever since outside dining , drinks to go and the legalization of weed in this city. Also, Heavy marijuana use among youths is leading to more addiction and antisocial behavior.” Not one of these assertions is mentioned in any of the articles you provided. The articles didn’t say where these accidents occurred, streets or highways. The rise in crime didn’t say which neighborhoods or zip codes saw increases or decreases. Your comments are random.
And Trump had no effect on the capital riots. Neither does Biden with inflation and gas prices…that’s all Putin’s fault. Legalizing marijuana which can be laced with other substances making it available on every block in addition to outside alcohol consumption has nothing to do with hit and runs and disorderly conduct.
Joe- You can lace cigarettes, coffee, soda, water , etc. with other substances too.
I am more worried about the rat problem. I never seen so many. Its disgusting!
What was the over/under for a daydrinking woman behind the wheel of a SUV?
why they gave illegals drivers licenses
There’s no mention of her being illegal weird you would say that
They give illegal aliens licenses so Trump and his cronies could put them on payrolls.
The killer car driver was a legal resident. Trump couldn’t defend the Capitol, did you really think he’d get a “one-time payment” from Mexico to pay for The Wall? ?
May the girl and her grandmother fully recover from their injuries.
Lopez needs JAIL time
lock this pos up for the rest of her life. if driving under the influence isn’t enough, she took away the precious lives of a girl and her grandmother…. do you think they will be able to recover physically and emotionally after this incident? and this pos decided to flee the scene? IRRESPONSIBLE. RECKLESS. SELFISH POS.
Yeah ! she’ll be there on Aug. 18th.
PLEASE keep us posted about the recovery of the child, and her grandmother!!! They both are in my prayers. ???
Wow, already drunk and it wasn’t even 7 PM. Hope she goes to prison soon!
Make her go to jail!
Throw this POS in jail for attempted murder.
dont worry, the DA will release her tomorrow and drop all charges. please keep voting progressives in! crime is so racist and must be cancelled.
This is awful. Car culture sucks.
The bitch drove drunk.
You definitely rant about cyclists ?
How about blaming the “alcohol culture” or better yet, blaming the selfish and idiotic driver? Last time I checked, cars were inanimate objects incapable of making moral choices.
Alex, it wasn’t the car that injured these two people, it was the alcohol in this irresponsible woman’s body. She made the choice to drive drunk and hurt two innocent people.
This is terrible, but can’t blame an entire “culture” because of 1 person.
You haven’t been on this site that long, huh?