Elvin Suarez of Morningside Heights was charged with multiple counts of manslaughter, vehicular assault, and driving while intoxicated after a crash near Amsterdam Avenue and West 109th Street left two men dead and three others critically injured, with the veh
A Friday evening in Upper Manhattan turned into something far worse within minutes, and police say the sequence of events now points to one driver’s alleged intoxication.
Elvin Suarez of Morningside Heights has been charged with multiple counts of manslaughter. vehicular assault. and driving while intoxicated after a crash that killed two people and left three others critically injured.. Authorities say Suarez’s breathalyzer test registered .10—above the legal limit—after police say he lost control of his vehicle near Amsterdam Avenue and West 109th Street around 6 p.m.. just blocks from his home.
Investigators say the impact didn’t begin with a random strike.. Suarez allegedly sideswiped another vehicle before his car careened onto the sidewalk, starting a chain reaction that involved seven vehicles.. The Mercedes later struck a group of people sitting outside a local barbershop. fatally injuring 35-year-old father of triplets Michael Saint-Hilaire and 46-year-old doorman Jason Negron.
Emergency responders rushed both men to the hospital in critical condition, but they later died from their injuries. Investigators also shut down part of Amsterdam Avenue Friday evening as they processed the scene, and crews cleared damaged vehicles from the roadway.
The crash’s toll extended beyond the two deaths.. Emergency responders transported three more men—ages 36, 44, and 51—to St.. Luke’s Hospital in critical condition.. Witnesses described the scene as devastating: one onlooker called it a “horror show” and said the vehicle pinned and injured one victim against a parking structure.. Another witness said the driver appeared to be lifelong friends with some of the victims. adding a personal. painful dimension to an already brutal night.
City officials have not released additional details about what happened before the crash, and they haven’t said whether investigators believe speed played a role. It also remains unclear whether Suarez has hired an attorney.
The timeline police are laying out ties together several key steps: a breathalyzer result of .10. a loss of control near Amsterdam Avenue and West 109th Street around 6 p.m.. an alleged sideswipe that triggered a chain reaction involving seven vehicles. and then a mounting of the sidewalk that led to the fatal injuries of Michael Saint-Hilaire and Jason Negron.
Right now, the community is left grappling with the immediate aftermath—two lives lost and three men fighting for survival—while investigators continue working to clarify what led to the moments before the crash.
Elvin Suarez NYC sidewalk crash Upper Manhattan Amsterdam Avenue West 109th Street drunk driving charge manslaughter vehicular assault .10 breathalyzer Michael Saint-Hilaire Jason Negron