After almost half a year, a man who caused an accident that killed a Queens mother on Mother’s Day has been charged with murder. The driver fled the scene, leaving her pinned between cars crying for her life as her children frantically called for help.

On Thursday, Oct. 13, Roosevelt Rose, 56, was arrested on charges that he was the one who caused the Sunday, May 8, incident that took the life of Florence Ngwu, a mother of four (two girls and two boys), according to a release from the Queens D.A. Melinda Katz.

Surveillance footage captures shocking hit and run.

A Queens County grand jury indicted Rose before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder on “charges of murder, reckless driving and other crimes” related to killing the 49-year-old outside of her home in the New York district of Jamaica in Queens. 

In total, Rose received a seven-count indictment that includes second-degree, assault in the first and second degrees, manslaughter in the second degree, criminal mischief in the third degree, and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting.

The NYPD Collision Investigation Squad worked in partnership with the DA’s office to bring Rose in.

Daily News reported Inspector Sylvester Ge, head of the NYPD Highway District, worked “relentlessly” to build a case for five months.

According to police reports, Rose pinned the 49-year-old nurse between two parked cars after he made a U-turn in a stolen Ford F-550 at 167th Street and 120th Avenue, around 8:30 a.m. on the holiday.

Ngwu and one of her daughters had come out to confront the driver after watching him hit some of the cars on their block. One of the vehicles reportedly belonged to Ngwu’s daughter.

Rose continued to drive recklessly, video of the altercation shows, making a U-turn on the dead-end street, dragging one of the vehicles, that pinned the woman against another parked car.

In the footage, Ngwu is seen trapped between the two cars, her children screamed out to her, crying, “Mommy! Mommy!”

Neighbors also rushed to call 911, hoping to get emergency care to save the woman’s life. Once support arrived, she was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where she died.

One neighbor Calvin Williams said, “I just wish that they stayed on the sidewalk and just called police instead of coming in the street and trying to be too vigilant.”

The Queens DA said, “This is a horrifying incident involving the heartbreaking death of a local mom on a day meant to be a celebration for her and her loved ones.”

“As alleged, the defendant was operating a vehicle when he slammed into parked cars on a residential street, causing the victim to get pinned between two bumpers,” Katz said. “My Office will not allow the use of motor vehicles as dangerous weapons. The defendant is now in custody and will be held accountable for his alleged criminal actions.”

Video surveillance captured everything, showing the moment when Ngwu’s daughter Princess heard the crash and ran outside to see her mother stuck between other parked vehicles and her parked BMW sedan.

The release states, “[Footage] of the incident shows the three individuals trying to approach the defendant, at which point he continued his reckless attempts to turn the truck around on the narrow street. The defendant can be seen on video slamming into a parked SUV during the turn, forcing the SUV to jump forward.”

“The victim and two other individuals were standing directly next to the SUV, the force of which threw them all to the ground,” the D.A.’s statement continues.

“The victim, Florence Ngwu, fell behind the rear bumper of another parked vehicle. She was ultimately crushed between the front bumper of the SUV and the rear bumper of the parked vehicle, as the defendant drove away from the scene.”

One of the woman’s nieces commented on her death, saying, “It’s still hard for me to accept what happened.”

“It is good for justice to be served, for him to serve time for what he did,” Nnenna B shared about the arrest of the man who killed her aunt. “It’s not fair for anybody to just be able to do such a thing like he did and just get away with it, you know?”

Rose was already in the Nassau County Correctional Center, before being brought to the court for his arraignment. His defense was firm and clear. He says he is innocent of the crime.

“This is the thing they’re accusing me of that I didn’t do,” he said. “So what do I have to say to the family? If I did something, then I would have something to say.”

Rose will return to court on Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, and faces up to 25 years to life in prison.