Cops find SuV in fatal hit-run
COPS HAVE found the SUV used to mow down and kill a Brooklyn chef near Union Square, police said Thursday.
Police found the vehicle, rented from Zipcar, and are examining it for forensic evidence to try to find the driver who ran over Adrian Blanc, 34, of Brooklyn, just before 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Blanc was in the crosswalk when the SUV turned left from E. 14th St. onto Union Square East, rolled over him, paused briefly, then took off uptown. He died Wednesday at Bellevue Hospital, hours after police released gruesome video of the incident in an effort to catch the killer.
“He’s a nice guy, people love him, he’s my friend,” said his mom, Anne Salomon, 63, fighting back tears as she rested in bed in her Flatbush apartment.
“The impact broke his skull, caused internal bleeding, and the pressure from that caused brain death.”
Blanc came to the U.S. from Venezuela in his early 20s. He started as a dishwasher, and worked his way up to head chef at a Manhattan restaurant.
He became a citizen earlier this year, enthusiastically texting his friends, “I’m a citizen! I’m a citizen!”
He used some of his earnings to pay school tuition for one of his brothers. Salomon said the detectives working the case believe the driver made an illegal U-turn before striking Blanc.
Blanc (photo) was engaged to a childhood friend in Venezuela, and the two planned to marry soon, she said. He liked sports, especially baseball, loved to work out and stay fit, loved to travel and planned vacations for the future. Salomon said she learned of the tragedy when her daughter, Adrian’s only sister, who still lives in Venezuela, phoned her early yesterday morning after receiving a call from the NYPD. “Your son did nothing wrong,” she said detectives told her. Blanc’s father lives in Venezuela, and he has three brothers who live here. Salomon hopes he and her daughter can come from Venezuela for the funeral. Anyone with information about the driver who struck Blanc can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. Calls are confidential.