Mourning Two Fathers Killed by Alleged Drunk Driver; Suspect Held on $250,000 Bail

A growing memorial of flowers and candles marks an Upper West Side intersection where two men were struck and killed Friday by an alleged drunk driver. Neighbors identify the victims as two fathers: a 46-year-old man and a 35-year-old man.

According to a criminal complaint, 61-year-old Alvin Suarez was arraigned Monday on multiple charges, including aggravated vehicular homicide and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. The judge set bail at $250,000 cash.

Police say Suarez was driving drunk when he sped through the intersection at 109th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, lost control, and struck and killed both men. Two other people were also injured in the incident.

Friends say a photo taken shortly before the crash shows the 46-year-old victim, Jason Negron, standing, and the 35-year-old victim, Michael St. Hilaire, on a bike at that same corner. Negron had reportedly texted his mother that he was waiting for her on that corner minutes before the fatal crash.

A relative of St. Hilaire said by phone that he was the father of triplets who were about to turn two years old. Describing the loss as “very painful,” the relative remembered St. Hilaire as “always happy, caring and loving” and a “very hard working man.”

Negron worked as a doorman at a building on West 110th Street, where bouquets and notes to his family now line the entryway. A neighbor described him as “a really kind person,” “very steady, very, very willing to help,” adding that “he loved his girls.” Negron’s two daughters are teenagers.

“It could have been anybody,” one neighbor said at the memorial. “We would come here and meet on Friday. Everybody came here and enjoyed themselves.”

Another resident reflected on the suddenness of the loss, saying, “You just have to live to the fullest because you just don’t know.”