Hit-And-Run Driver Fatally Strikes Woman Walking Home From Bus Stop In Hempstead
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Police on Tuesday were looking for a driver they say fled the scene after fatally striking a woman walking home from a bus stop on Long Island.
Investigators say 56-year-old Maureen Benjamin, described as a pillar of her community, was walking near Westbury Boulevard and Commander Avenue around 6:40 p.m. Monday when she was hit by an unknown vehicle.
The vehicle left the scene in an unknown direction, according to police, as a passerby discovered Benjamin gravely injured.
Benjamin's daughter tells CBS2 she had taken the bus home from her home health aide job.
"I'm just in shock," daughter Kayla Benjamin said. "I spoke to her five minutes before I got the news she had been hit."
Medics rushed Benjamin to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Just last week, the woman known as the mother of her block celebrated her 56th birthday surrounded by loved ones.
"She was an angel, she had nothing bad to say about anyone," nephew Sean Petit said. "She cooked for the whole neighborhood."
Nassau Police are now examining surveillance video from nearby in hopes of tracking down the hit-and-run driver. Neighbors say it's an area where neighbors say stop signs are too often ignored.
"People think they come through Hempstead they become lawless through here," Hempstead resident Beatrice Braxton said. "It's not right."
In addition to her daughter, Benjamin is also survived by her husband who picks her up from work most days. Mondays were the one day a week she'd take the bus.
Detectives request anyone with information regarding the above incident to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.
All callers will remain anonymous.
