More than seven years after hitting and killing a 15-year-old boy in Queens, a former New York resident has been arrested for the crime in Spain.

According to media reports, police say that Paula Bartolo, 56, was arguing with the victim, Jeffrey Javier, first, then later ran the boy over. Though they don’t know what prompted the argument, only that Bartolo did it, then fled the state and the country.

Credit New York detectives who first tracked down the vehicle Bartolo was driving to the man’s daughter and identifying him as the driver. By that time, however, Bartolo had already fled the country to the Dominican Republic. Investigators were not deterred, however, and have tenaciously tracked his movements from place to play for the past seven years. This week, after years of searching, tracking and false hopes, they finally found him stationary, living in Spain. New York authorities contacted Spanish authorities and they apprehended him in their country. He has since been extradited to the U.S. and is already charged with manslaughter. It seems likely other charges will follow as detectives sort out the entirety of the case against him.

New York police are known for aggressively pursuing anyone who commits a crime in their jurisdiction. This applies to anything from parking tickets (yes, they communicate with all states to pursue out-of-state drivers as well) to speeding tickets to more serious driving infractions. If you think you can outrun a driving infraction in New York, think again. Police there will chase you for as long as it takes to find you, charge you and collects the fees, fines or punishment you earned.

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