Babysitter Killed In Tragic Crash In Brentwood, Long Island
BRENTWOOD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A routine ride in a car to drop off a babysitter ended tragically in a deadly crash on Long Island this week.
As CBS2's Sonia Rincon reported, a Bay Shore grandmother was killed in the accident in Brentwood, and two other people were hurt. Neighbors said the road is notorious for accidents.
A woman was backing out of a driveway, on her way to drive her kids' babysitter back to her house nearby.
But that babysitter, Maria Alfaro, 52, never made it home. Her daughter, Mariela Lozano, got the call to come to Northwell Health Southside Hospital around 10 p.m. Thursday.
"I arrived at the hospital," Lozano said before she broke down crying. "She didn't make it."
Police said a car with an unlicensed driver at the wheel plowed into the passenger side.
"We came running to try to see if we could help them out. My husband and my brothers and some neighbors, we pushed the car, you know, because it was really smashed," said Ana Rios.
Rios said she tried to talk to the driver of the other car, whom Suffolk County police identified as Wilson Nieves, 33, of Brentwood.
"Because I felt, you know, his face -- he was scared, you know, he was in shock, and he never left the scene of the accident," Rios said.
The sidewalk was being reconstructed at the scene, and neighbors said drivers treat Crooked Hill Road like a highway.
"This place always has had accidents," Rios said.
"A lot of people have been dying over here for years and years, and they don't do nothing," added neighbor Roberto Marcussis.
There was traffic light recently installed at the next intersection. But neighbors said it was in the wrong place, and Rincon reported it is not yet operational and no one is slowing down.
Alfaro's daughter said she doesn't fault either driver. The woman driving her mother was a family friend.
She had a message for the driver who struck their car.
"I forgive you -- not only I, but the Lord," Lozano said. "I don't want to press charges against you. It's not in my heart."
But neighbors said the underlying problem with speeding on the road must be addressed.
"We've got to do something about this, OK?" Marcussis said, "especially on this street."
For now, neighbors are urging drivers on Crooked Hill Road to slow down.
Driver Nieves was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle. Late Friday, he was still at Northwell Health Southside Hospital recovering from non-life-threatening injuries.