You are reading

16-Year-Old Cyclist Dies Days After Being Struck By Hit-and-Run Driver in College Point

16-year-old Darwin Durazno was killed by a hit-and-run driver in College Point (GoFundMe)

June 10, 2021 By Allie Griffin

A 16-year-old boy died Monday, days after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike in College Point.

Darwin Durazno, of Corona, was riding his bicycle on College Point Boulevard on Friday when a driver crossed onto the wrong side of the road and struck him at around 9:30 p.m., police said.

Durazno was rushed to Jacobi Hospital and succumbed to his injuries three days later.

The driver — behind the wheel of a 2019 Toyota Camry — was traveling northbound on College Point Boulevard and crossed the double yellow lines to try to overtake another car.

The vehicle struck Durazno, who was cycling southbound on College Point Boulevard, head on, police said.

The teen was knocked off his bike onto the roadway and suffered severe head trauma, police said. EMS rushed him to Jacobi Medical Center.

The driver, however, sped off without stopping and turned right onto 15th Avenue.

Officers later recovered the vehicle — a rental car from Enterprise according to the New York Daily News — abandoned in front of 120-0715th Ave.

The suspect is still at large.

Giancarlo De Lellis, the employer of Durazno’s father, has started a GoFundMe to help the family pay for funeral arrangements.

“Although Darwin tried his best to fight through the pain and injuries he sustained, he tragically passed away on June 7th, 2021,” De Lellis, who operates a home improvement contracting business, wrote in the GoFundMe description.

“The lives of his parents, Darwin & Marisol, his big brother Anthony, and his little sister Allison, are changed forever due to this unimaginable and heartbreaking tragedy.”

The fundraiser has raised more than $6,000 — surpassing its $5,000 goal — in just a day.

“All funds will go directly to the Darwin & Marisol to help with expenses related to this unfortunate situation,” De Lellis said. “Any funds that are above and beyond the costs of services will go into a college fund for Anthony and Allison.”

email the author: [email protected]
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Manhattan bouncer charged in New Year’s Day fatal stabbing in Elmhurst: NYPD

A Manhattan man was arrested on Saturday and charged in the fatal stabbing of an East Elmhurst man during the early morning hours of New Year’s Day in what notably became the city’s first homicide of 2024.

Torrence Holmes, 35, of St. Nicholas Place in Hamilton Heights, was taken into custody at his home and transported back to Queens, where he was booked at the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst on manslaughter and other charges on Saturday afternoon.

After surge of traffic violence, Queens leaders demand safer streets especially for children

Following a tragic week on Queens streets where three pedestrians — 43-year-old Natalia Garcia-Valencia, 58-year-old Elisa Bellere and 8-year-old Bayrron Palomino Arroyo — were fatally struck by unsafe drivers, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced that he has allocated $1.5 million in capital funding for street safety improvements on three of the borough’s most dangerous roadways.

Richards made the announcement at 82nd Street and Astoria Boulevard in East Elmhurst on Monday morning, about a mile from where the 8-year-old boy was struck and killed by an impatient pickup truck driver from Flushing on Mar. 13 as he walked in the crosswalk at 31st Avenue and 101st Street with him mother and brother, who was injured.