THE BRONX (PIX11) — Nearly six years after an FDNY EMT and mother of five was fatally struck by her own ambulance in the Bronx, the man accused of getting behind the wheel and killing her is set to face trial starting Wednesday.
Opening statements are expected around 10 a.m. in the trial of Jose Gonzalez, charged with murder, manslaughter, and robbery in the March 2017 death of Yadira Arroyo.
Arroyo and her partner were in their ambulance when they were alerted to a person riding the back bumper, officials previously said. When they got out to check, Gonzalez allegedly got behind the wheel, reversed the ambulance, then drove forward, striking and dragging Arroyo in the process, authorities have said.
Arroyo, a 14-year veteran of the department and mother of five children, died a short time later. She was 44.
Gonzalez was taken into custody a short time later and pleaded not guilty during a 2017 arraignment. However, he was deemed unfit to stand trial.
But in the fall of 2022, health officials “determined him to be no longer an incapacitated person,” and Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark vowed to move forward with the case.
