Police say they have arrested one of the two drivers in a Brooklyn hit-and-run that killed an elderly man Tuesday afternoon.
Witnesses said the 93-year-old victim was getting out of his car on Albany Avenue between Eastern Parkway and Lincoln Avenue in Crown Heights, when a flatbed truck ran over him. He was then hit by another car, allegedly driven by 40-year-old Janice Vargas-Cruz.
Vargas-Cruz has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. She's expected to appear in court Thursday.
It wasn't immediately clear if she had retained an attorney.
Maxine Gray, the victim's live-in girlfriend, identified him as Melwood Hughes, who would have turned 94 in July.
Surveillance video obtained by NBC 4 New York shows Hughes getting out of his vehicle, which was double-parked on the right side of the street. A long flatbed truck that had been stopped right next to the car, likely for a stop sign or red light, begins to move right as Hughes walks in front of it, and runs over him for the entire length of the trailer.
A car behind the truck moves right over Hughes and drags him several feet before skidding to a stop. The vehicle backs up and appears to drive around the body. A woman can be seen walking over to peer over the body, then walking away.
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Hughes was taken to Lutheran Hospital in "very critical condition," and died there, according to police.
Vargas-Cruz's husband, Oscar Rodriguez, told NBC 4 New York sister station Telemundo 47 that his wife left the scene because she was nervous. The mother of three has been a taxi driver for the past 11 years in Brooklyn, he said.
Hughes' girlfriend said Tuesday he was an active and religious man who prayed for everyone. He was well-known in the neighorhood and lives across the street from where he was struck, neighbors said.
"He always went to church on Sundays, he was a nice old man," said a longtime neighbor who only identified himself as Mr. Thompson.
"He was in church on Sunday and the pastor called up all the fathers, and he came up and he was dancing," said Jean Williams, an elderly woman who knew the victim from the neighborhood and church. "It's too emotional. He's family member."
Police are still looking for a white Peterbuilt 18-wheel tractor trailer truck with a silver trailer.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
