Driver in Mother’s Day fatal crash sentenced to 28½ years to life in Queens
QUEENS, NY — A Queens man convicted in a deadly 2022 hit‑and‑run that killed a South Jamaica woman on Mother’s Day has been sentenced to 28½ years to life in prison, concluding a case that centered on a commercial truck he had never driven before and a series of collisions that turned a quiet morning into a fatal scene.
Roosevelt Rose, 59, of Jamaica, was sentenced after a jury found him guilty in July of second‑degree murder, first‑degree assault, third‑degree criminal mischief, and leaving the scene without reporting. The sentence was handed down by Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise.
According to trial testimony, the crash unfolded on May 8, 2022, around 8:30 a.m., when Rose attempted a three‑point turn on 120th Avenue in a 2019 Ford F‑550 truck owned by a construction company. He had never operated the vehicle prior to that morning. During the maneuver, he struck a BMW belonging to the daughter of 49‑year‑old Florence Ngwu, prompting Ngwu and her daughter to come outside and call police.
Prosecutors said Rose continued trying to reposition the truck, hitting the BMW again despite bystanders shouting at him to stop. As he attempted to drive away, Rose accelerated and struck a parked Chevy Equinox, pushing it nearly 15 feet. The vehicle then slammed into Ngwu, her daughter, and a neighbor who were walking away.
Ngwu was pinned between two vehicles, suffering injuries including a torn brain stem and lacerated spinal cord. She died the next day at a hospital. Rose abandoned the truck about a mile and a half from the scene, with surveillance video capturing him walking away.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Gabriel J. Reale of the Homicide Bureau, with support from other members of the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
————————————————————————
Key Points
- Roosevelt Rose was sentenced to 28½ years to life for a fatal 2022 Mother’s Day hit‑and‑run in Queens
- Florence Ngwu died after being struck during a series of collisions involving a commercial pickup truck
- Rose abandoned the truck and was later convicted of murder, assault, and leaving the scene