Outrage and heartbreak after deadly hit-and-run in North Lawrence on Long Island
NORTH LAWRENCE, N.Y. - A Long Island family says their holidays will never be the same.
Their daughter was hit and killed Tuesday evening walking across the street in her hometown.
The Nassau County Homicide Squad is urging any witnesses to come forward as they search for the driver who fled the scene.
Nassau detectives spoke with the grieving Larios family of North Lawrence after their beloved Esmerelda, 34, known as Mimis, suffered a tragic and inhumane death.
It happened as she crossed Burnside Avenue at Washington Place. A driver slammed into her, dragging her body down the block, and kept going.
"She was a loving person. Young, full of life. Sweet. Caring," her boyfriend Ilcias Merida said.
Her loved ones were overcome. They asked if the driver has no conscience, and begged the driver to turn themselves in. They also pleaded for more roadway safeguards.
"Speed limits. Some signs. Something like that, for everybody to slow down, pay more attention," cousin Selvis Perez said.
"We are in the most dangerous time of year, as far as fatal pedestrian crashes are concerned. And 63% of all fatal pedestrian crashes happen at night," Robert Sinclair of AAA Northeast said.
It was just after 7 p.m., and dark, when Mimis Larios was killed.
Experts say drivers in SUVs and trucks with higher front ends, and those distracted, drugged and speeding, are most often to blame.
There's been a 77% uptick in pedestrian fatalities over the past decade nationwide, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Sadly, Long Island is on a path to outpace last year's 63 pedestrian deaths.
Walk Safe Long Island says that in the past three years in Nassau and Suffolk, 515 people have been hit and injured while walking, jogging or biking. They say numbers are trending even higher than that for this year.
"We need to design our roads for safety. We have some of the most dangerous roads in New York state. More crosswalks, better signage, medians, roundabouts, narrowing lanes," Eric Alexander of Vision Long Island said.
"My message to whoever did this: Only god can forgive you, but what you need is to come forward. This could be anyone's daughter, anyone's wife, anyone's sister," Merida said.
Mimis was heading from the gym to the grocery store. Police hope to release surveillance video from a nearby business.
The family is asking any possible witnesses or anyone with dashcam video to please share with police, in a quest to help bring them justice.
Anyone with information can contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.