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Erasmo Huerta Gonzalez

Age : 38

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/23/2025

Location : United Nations Avenue South, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, near Queens Theatre

City : Queens

County : Queens

State : New York

Agency : New York City Police Department

Officer(s) :Levonje Devone

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Pedestrian bystander killed by police vehicle

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/23/2025, at approximately 4:37 p.m., 38-year-old Erasmo Huerta Gonzalez was lying on United Nations Avenue South inside Flushing Meadows Corona Park when NYPD Officer Levonje Devone drove a marked police cruiser over him. United Nations Avenue South is an interior park roadway normally closed to civilian traffic. During the U.S. Open, it was being used by NYPD, Parks Department and authorized employee vehicles.
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Gonzalez, a Queens resident originally from Mexico, had moved to the United States in 2012. He was the father of a 16-year-old son who lived in Mexico and the youngest of six siblings. His family said he loved soccer and described him as an upbeat person.
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Approximately one minute before Devone struck Gonzalez, two New York Mets employees called 911 to report a man lying in the roadway. At least one person attempted to warn the approaching police vehicle. NYPD Lt. Maritza Meade was also nearby and saw Devone’s cruiser moving toward Gonzalez. Meade ran toward the driver’s side and attempted to get the officers’ attention.
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Devone was driving with Officer Keisha Compere in the passenger seat. Witnesses initially told Streetsblog that Devone and Compere appeared to be talking and looking toward each other rather than at the roadway immediately before the collision.
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The subsequent New York Attorney General investigation identified Devone as the driver and produced considerably more detailed evidence about the moments before impact. Investigators found that Devone had an open tube of lip gloss between the thumb and index finger of her right hand while that hand held the steering wheel. She had the applicator in her left hand.
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Devone was traveling approximately 7 mph. Despite the low speed, the cruiser drove over Gonzalez and dragged him approximately ten feet before stopping. Compere told investigators that she heard what sounded like low screams or moaning beneath her side of the patrol car. Officers subsequently used a jack to raise the vehicle and free Gonzalez.
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Emergency personnel transported Gonzalez to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens. He was pronounced dead at approximately 5:14 p.m. The medical examiner determined that he died from blunt-force injuries to his torso caused by being struck and run over by the police vehicle.
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Gonzalez’s family said police did not notify them of his death. His relatives learned what had happened four days later after one of Gonzalez’s friends contacted a family member. Two of his brothers then went to a police precinct and identified him from photographs. His family publicly criticized the NYPD for providing virtually no information about his death.
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The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation opened an independent investigation on 08/26/2025 because state law requires the office to investigate deaths potentially caused by police action or omission. Investigators reviewed body-camera recordings, cell-phone information, collision evidence and witness accounts.
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The investigation determined that Gonzalez was wearing dark clothing while lying on dark asphalt in a shadowed portion of the roadway and that Devone had been driving into sunlight immediately before reaching him. The NYPD Collision Investigation Squad calculated her speed at approximately 7 mph.
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On 04/14/2026, the Attorney General’s Office closed its criminal investigation without filing charges against Devone. The Office of Special Investigation concluded that prosecutors could not prove criminally negligent homicide beyond a reasonable doubt.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
NYPD Officer Levonje Devone was driving the marked police cruiser that ran over and killed Erasmo Huerta Gonzalez. Devone was assigned to Queens’ 109th Precinct and had joined the NYPD in 2021.
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The Attorney General’s investigation established that Devone was holding an open tube of lip gloss against the steering wheel with her right hand and an applicator in her left hand immediately before the collision. A nearby NYPD lieutenant and at least one civilian attempted to alert the officers as the cruiser approached Gonzalez.
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Devone declined through her attorney to be interviewed by the Attorney General’s investigators. The Office of Special Investigation ultimately declined criminal charges on 04/14/2026. Devone remained employed by the NYPD following the investigation.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/09/03/cop-who-fatally-struck-a-man-in-flushing-meadows-park-wasnt-even-looking-witnesses
https://gothamist.com/news/man-dies-after-police-run-over-him-lying-on-flushing-meadows-corona-park-road-nypd
https://nypost.com/2025/09/03/us-news/cop-fatally-runs-over-man-in-flushing-meadows-park/
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/queens-nypd-officer-fatally-hits-man-in-flushing-meadows-corona-park/6383032/
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-office-special-investigation-opens-investigation-24
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-office-special-investigation-releases-report-death-erasmo
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/reports/osi-erasmo-huerta-gonzalez-report.pdf
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/04/20/ag-james-wont-charge-cop-who-ran-over-and-dragged-sleeping-man-in-park-while-applying-makeup
https://queenseagle.com/all/2026/4/16/officer-who-ran-over-man-in-queens-park-wont-be-charged-in-his-death
GoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-erasmos-final-journey-home