A driver in New York City who was wanted by authorities for a hit-and-run incident resulting in the tragic death of an elderly woman has been caught after nearly five years of avoiding law enforcement.
On Thursday, law enforcement officials nabbed the driver who had been wanted for the death of a great-grandmother in 2019.
“When [the detective] called me, I was numb, I couldn’t believe it, I was speechless,” the eldest child of the now-deceased grandmother told the New York Post.
“I was like, ‘Are you sure, are you positive?’ And [the detective] said, ‘Yeah, the DNA test that we did, the blood that was on the airbag, you know, it confirmed and matched the DNA,’” she recalled.
“I called my brother, my two sisters. We all were all on the line, and I told them what the detective told me,” Lascano-Vargas, 54, added. “It’s about time.”
The hit-and-run suspect was identified as 46-year-old Naquan Young. He was tracked down by authorities on a fugitive warrant in Pennsylvania and was eventually extradited to New York City.
The New York Post noted that Young was being sought in the tragic murder of Gilda Lascano, 72, after his gray Lexus SUV ran past a red light during the early morning hours of Sept. 10, 2019, in Ozone Park, and smashed into the elderly grandmother’s vehicle, in which she was a passenger.
Upon impact, the vehicle that Lascano was in was thrust in the air toward a nearby flower shop.
The 72-year-old had been a cleaning lady and, at the time, was heading home from her night shift alongside a coworker.
Lascano-Vargas pointed out that her mother was “half a block or maybe less than half a block from the house” when she was killed.
The 72-year-old was declared deceased at the scene.
Officials said that Young fled the scene on foot. He is now facing criminal charges of negligent homicide, second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault and fleeing the scene of a crime, according to the New York Post.
On Friday, the suspect was arraigned in a Queens court and is currently being held without bail.
Lascano-Vargas indicated that her mother was a hard worker who aimed to purchase a home in Ozone Park for her children.
“All that hard work … was really to buy that house so everyone can live comfortably,” Lascano-Vargas said. “And she was in that house, I would say, two years.”
“She just loved to be surrounded with her grandkids, you know, and around her kids.
“I used to live in Jackson Heights,’’ the daughter continued. “After my mom’s death and stuff, I couldn’t stay in Queens anymore. So I moved to Westchester [County].”
Lascano-Vargas attended Young’s arraignment on Friday. She has expressed her intention to be at his next court hearing in July alongside her two sons and two sisters as they continue to investigate the case.
“All we want is for him to do the time,” the daughter said. “Once we hear how many years he’s gonna do is where we can finally put it to rest.”
The post Authorities Catch Suspect in Tragic 2019 Hit-and-Run Incident Resulting in Elderly Woman’s Death appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
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Author: Anthony Gonzalez
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