1-year-old girl dies after being struck by SUV on Staten Island, mother hospitalized
NEW YORK -- A one-year-old girl has died after being struck by an SUV on Staten Island.
The child was walking in a crosswalk Thursday morning with her mother, who is in stable condition at Staten Island University Hospital, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported.
The morning routine for the mother and her young daughter turned tragic just after 7 a.m. when the girl was struck and killed at the intersection of Scarboro Avenue and Abbott Street in Rosebank.
"It's tragic. It's a nightmare," Rosebank resident Rebecca Dvhurinskiy said.
It happened as an SUV driver made a left off Scarboro. According to police, it's possible a commercial vehicle was parked in a way that made the mother, 31, and child harder to see.
Witnesses said the SUV driver spoke to them about there being a blind spot.
"I went to the lady. She told me it wasn't her fault. It wasn't her fault because there was a truck in the way when she made that turn, she couldn't see, and she hit the lady with the baby," said Francies Gracia.
Police said the driver stayed at the scene.
Friends of the mother said she made it a ritual to walk her baby girl to day care before picking up her car and heading to work.
"She's a lovely mom. She always walks around," Sandra Romero said.
"I arrived and I heard her screaming like crazy," Romero said. "So I called 911. They came immediately. I saw her crying, screaming, 'My baby, my baby! Oh my God, my baby's not moving!'"
The mother was hospitalized with leg injuries.
"It is heartbreaking," said Theresa Torres. "I've seen her and the husband and the baby ... They are very nice people and they're very quiet."
"It's just very, very scary," Dvhurinskiy said. "I'm always very cautious, but I guess you can never be too cautious and very mindful of my surroundings."
We're told the girl is an only child and her mother is expected to recover.
At this point, no charges have been filed.