Photo Courtesy of NYC Parks
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
By Michael V. Cusenza
After three days on the lam following a hit-and-run accident earlier this month in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park that left a 4-year-old boy in critical condition, a Jamaica man was recently apprehended by authorities and charged with hitting the child with the motorized scooter he was riding and subsequently fleeing the scene, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Thursday.
Argenis Rivas, 29, was arraigned this week on a complaint charging him with assault in the second degree, leaving the scene of an incident, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless driving and driving without a license.
According to the charges, around 5:45 pm on Sunday, July 18, Rivas was riding the scooter in the Meadow Lake Boat Rental parking lot within Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
According to the complaint, Rivas was allegedly operating the vehicle at a high rate of speed in the crowded parking lot when he struck the little boy, who fell to the ground, appeared to be unconscious and was bleeding from the head. The child sustained severe injuries and remains in critical condition at a nearby hospital.
Katz said Rivas rode away from the scene and failed to stop to offer any aid to the child or to report the incident. Rivas was eventually taken into custody on July 21.
If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.
