A 46-year-old MTA train operator has been accused of running down and killing a jeweler to the stars in a Queens hit-and-run earlier this month, police say.
Charles Jordan faces charges of murder, murder with depraved indifference and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death in the hit-and-run in Forest Hills that killed Aron Aranbayev on July 19, according to the NYPD.
Authorities said the 40-year-old father of four and Jordan may have been arguing over a parking spot beforehand on 71st Avenue.
"He was being dropped off, and some guy was in a rush," Aranbayev's cousin, Israel Aranbayev, said outside his funeral at the Jewish community center in Forest Hills last week. "They got into a verbal argument and the guy ran into him."
After the argument, Jordan allegedly put his 2005 Dodge Magnum in reverse and backed up, changed gears again back to drive, then accelerated and intentionally slammed into Aranbayev, according to District Attorney Richard A. Brown. Jordan then sped away.
Video from that night showed a dark Dodge Magnum leaving the scene after the driver hit Aranbayev.
Aranbayev was taken to Jamaica Hospital with severe head trauma. He died at the hospital a day later.
Co-workers and friends said Aranbayev was a pillar in the community and a family man, with his youngest child just 6 months old. Known as Eric to his friends, Aranbayev was considered a jeweler to the stars, accessorizing celebrities like Sean "Diddy" Combs, Khloe Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather.
Local
"A lot of people on the block are glad to know the guy got caught," said Daryl Dunn, a friend of Aranbayev who also works in the diamond district. "This has been rough on everybody, it took a toll on everybody."
Attorney information for Jordan wasn't immediately available.
