Teen driver fatally strikes woman on Northern Boulevard.
A 16-year-old driver struck Sara Perez on the Northern Boulevard sidewalk at about 4:50 p.m. on February 17, 2022, and police reports said she was pinned against a wall; the official record counts one pedestrian killed.
Approximate reported location.
What We Know
Police accounts reported that a 16-year-old driver struck Sara Perez on the sidewalk outside an auto shop on Northern Boulevard on February 17, 2022. CBS reported that the driver was backing up before accelerating forward; QNS accounts described him entering the shop. The official record lists driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor and records one pedestrian killed. The record and QNS give Perez's age as 19, while CBS reported that her family said she was 18. QNS reported that she was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where she was pronounced dead; reports said the driver remained at the scene, and no arrest had been made.
Reports differ on how the driver moved the pickup.
CBS, citing police, reported that the 16-year-old driver was collecting his father's pickup from an auto shop and accelerated forward after backing up.
QNS accounts instead described the driver as entering the shop when he struck Perez on the sidewalk. One QNS report said he was entering an auto body shop; another identified Northern Lube and Tire Shop. The official record lists the pickup's pre-crash movement as going straight ahead and names driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor.
Witness Ingrid Martinez told CBS that the driver said his brakes did not work. That was a witness's account of his statement, not a confirmed mechanical finding.
The crash happened beside an auto shop in Corona.
QNS placed the crash on the sidewalk outside 106-15 Northern Boulevard and identified the business as Northern Lube and Tire Shop. CBS placed it near 107th Street in Corona. Reports describe Perez on the sidewalk in front of the shop, the setting for differing accounts of whether the driver was backing up or entering the business.
Perez's cousin remembered her care for her cats.
The official record and QNS identify Sara Perez as 19. CBS reported that police initially gave that age, but her family said she was 18. QNS described her as an East Elmhurst resident.
Her cousin, Elvis Perez, told CBS: "She was a really nice, sweet, caring girl. She always had a smile on her face. She would always take care of her cats."
QNS reports give different Ford model names.
The official record identifies a 2006 Ford pickup. One QNS report calls it a 2006 Ford F-10; another calls it a Ford F-150. CBS reported that the driver was picking up his father's truck.
The driver stayed at the scene as police investigated.
QNS reported that EMS took Perez to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where she was pronounced dead; CBS said she was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The driver remained at the scene and spoke with police. CBS and QNS reported that no arrest had been made, and QNS said the NYPD Highway District's Collision Investigation Squad was investigating.