Agony for family
Matriarch hit and killed on Bronx highway
Milagros Collazo-Rios, 67, woke up Sunday determined to have her red, swollen eye looked at by a doctor.
She had put it off the day before to go to a baby shower for her fourth grandchild, due on Feb. 6, her birthday as well.
But she never made it to the Grand Concourse Urgent Care, where her daughter had recommended she go, and she’ll never know the new addition to her family.
Just before 10 a.m., a 2015 Nissan minivan traveling southbound on Jerome Avenue fatally struck Collazo-Rios at the intersection of W. 170th St. in Mt. Eden. The 39-year-old driver remained at the scene and was not charged, but the crash is still under investigation, police said.
The loss of the beloved matriarch, known
for her world-class pernil and her devotion to her family, devastated her family.
“She was everything,” her son Ray Rosado, 40, told the Daily News. “She supported me from day one, my wife, my child.”
What started as a typical Sunday for Ray Rosado and his family ended in unimaginable heartbreak. They were at their church, Joy Fellowship, in Mount Eden— hoping to pass by Collazo-Rios’ apartment afterward for some home cooking, as was their tradition.
“My mom loved to cook,” he said. “Her soups are the best. She was so good with cooking that she could have had her own restaurant.”
Her seasoned chicken or rice and beans with steak and onions were also a hit.
For her daughter, Melinda Rosado, 42, her roast pork stood out.
“I would always ask her to season it…but on Thanksgiving, she wouldn’t season mine,” her daughter said through tears. “‘You’re gonna have to learn how to do it, just in case one
day I’m not here.’ ”
More than her food, her children said they will remember her for the unflagging support she gave them.
“She was a tough cookie, but she made me the man I am today, made me a thinker,” her son said. “She didn’t want me to fall victim to the mean streets of the Bronx— to get caught up in the bad activities that have consequences. And I think she did a good job.”
Melinda Rosado said she will miss her daily chats with her mom.
“My mom was the world to me,” she said, choking up. “She was my best friend. I’m going to be lost without her because I call her every single day.”
Collazo-Rios moved to New York City from Puerto Rico as a teenager and worked in a warehouse in Long Island City making wire pieces for light fixtures until her retirement.
“My mom was such a sweet person, loving,” the daughter said. “The grandkids were everything to her.”