1 Dead In Hempstead Turnpike Crash In East Meadow
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A woman was killed Monday night on Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow when her car was struck by a vehicle fleeing police, authorities said.
The wreck happened around 11:40 p.m. A man driving a 2003 Nissan Sentra sped off when he was spotted by undercover cops in the vicinity of the Coliseum Motor Inn in East Meadow, police told 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera.
A source said the driver had a female in his car in the parking lot of the motel, which has been linked to prostitution and drug activity. According to the source, the female got out of the vehicle and the driver took off, speeding east down the turnpike, where he crashed into the rear of a 2013 Honda.
The 58-year-old female driver of the Honda, Ming Deng, was pronounced dead at the hospital where she worked, Nassau University Medical Center.
"The whole side was torn away, and the whole back," a woman who saw the wreckage told Rivera. "It was like there was no way anyone could survive that. You just know right off the bat. Absolutely horrible."
Video from the scene showed both cars with severe damage, and car parts could be seen scattered across the roadway, CBS2's Diane Macedo reported.
Marietta, a co-worker of the victim, told Rivera Deng was a dedicated hospital technician.
"We called her Ming. She's 58 years old and she has two kids, and a husband," she said. "She's a hard working woman, you know. And it's really, really sad."
The suspect, 28-year-old Justin Daley, of Hicksville, continued east on Hempstead Turnpike and eventually came to a rest at the intersection of Conti Square Boulevard, police said. Daley, who suffered a broken leg, was arrested and charged with manslaughter, reckless endangerment and reckless driving.
As CBS2's Emily Smith reported, Peter Deng, the victims husband, spoke about how successful Ming had become and how proud she made the family.
"Very nice, happy, very educated; She was a medical doctor in China," said Deng.
Ming lived on Fourth Street just a few blocks from her job at the hospital and would often walk, but last night she was coming home from her second job in Westchester.
She also worked in the neurology field at Westchester Medical Center, Smith reported.
Both sides of Hempstead Turnpike were closed for hours as police investigated but were reopened Tuesday morning, police said.
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