Driver Indicted In Fatal UWS DWI Crash That Killed 2 Men

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A 61-year-old man has been indicted on multiple felony charges after prosecutors say he drove drunk and slammed into pedestrians and parked vehicles on the Upper West Side in May, killing two men and injuring three others.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Wednesday that Elvin Suarez was indicted on charges including aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter, aggravated vehicular assault and aggravated driving while intoxicated in connection with the May 15 crash.

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Prosecutors said Suarez was intoxicated and speeding north on Amsterdam Avenue around 6 p.m. when he struck an unoccupied parked vehicle between West 107th and West 108th streets.

He then continued north, drove through the intersection at West 109th Street, crossed over the median separating the bike lane from the roadway and struck four pedestrians standing nearby, as well as an occupied parked vehicle, according to the indictment.

The impact threw three pedestrians several feet and pushed the occupied vehicle into other parked cars, causing a chain-reaction crash, prosecutors said. Suarez's vehicle eventually came to a stop, and bystanders directed him to lie on the ground until police arrived.

Officers found Jason Negron, 46, trapped beneath Suarez's vehicle and unresponsive. Michael Saint-Hilaire, 35, was receiving CPR from a bystander. Both men were taken to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Three other victims survived. Prosecutors said a 44-year-old man suffered an open fracture to his right leg, a 36-year-old man sustained fractures to his back and a 51-year-old man, who had been inside the parked vehicle that was struck, suffered injuries to his head, neck and shoulder.

"As alleged, Elvin Suarez's decision to drive while intoxicated had devastating and entirely preventable consequences," Bragg said. "Three men were significantly injured, and Jason Negron and Michael Saint-Hilaire—devoted fathers, loyal friends, and beloved members of their Upper West Side community—were killed."

Suarez faces five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of second-degree manslaughter, three counts of aggravated vehicular assault, two counts of second-degree assault, one count of third-degree assault and one count of aggravated driving while intoxicated.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.