Cry for justice in hit-run
Sister of man killed in Qns. smashup says there must be ‘payback’
The sister of a man killed in a hit-and-run crash on a Queens highway was left shattered Sunday, questioning how someone could have left her loved one to die on the pavement.
“You just can't take a life and think you can live your life without any payback,” said Monserrate Berney-Glover, 52. “Hopefully, somebody somewhere sees it or knows what happened.”
Berney-Glover's brother, David Berney, was behind the wheel of a small silver Scion heading north on the Whitestone Expressway near 20th Ave. at around 6:20 a.m. Saturday, police said.
The driver of a Mercedes SUV slammed into his car and Berney, 43, was thrown from the driver's seat and onto the pavement.
The driver of the Mercedes abandoned the damaged car and took off on foot, leaving Berney on the expressway.
“My brother is about 6-foot-1 [and] 220, 230 pounds, so for you to be ejected from a car, how hard was your car hit?” asked Berney-Glover. “He wasn't a small man.”
Berney, a track supervisor with the MTA, was heading to work in the Bronx when he crashed. A colleague on the way to work spotted Berney's mangled car on the expressway.
“Another supervisor eventually called [Berney's sister] and said, ‘Hey, we think he had an accident on the highway,'” Berney-Glover said. “The supervisor said he hasn't gotten here.”
Berney died at the scene, his body covered with a sheet while police investigated the crash.
“Accidents happen, understood,” said Berney-Glover. “That tells me that either you shouldn't have been driving that car, you were impaired, or there was something going on as to which made you leave and not be able to stay.”
Berney was raised in Inwood, Manhattan, and was married with a son in middle school. The family lived in Jackson Heights.
“His wife is truly devastated,” said Berney-Glover. “They were a unit, so it hurts.”
The victim worked for the MTA for about 15 years and had recently begun talking about retirement.
“He was just a jokester and really a friend to everybody,” Berney-Glover said. “He was serious when he needed to be, but that was not his life.”
The man's family is still working through the trauma of the crash and can't wrap their heads around the hit-and-run.
“In situations like this, you're kind of going crazy not knowing what you can do to get some justice and vindication,” said Berney-Glover. Accidents happen, but the running is what killed me. You left him strewn on the highway.”
Police are still searching for the driver who fled the scene.
“All we want is justice,” said Berney-Glover. “We just need this person to be caught and be held accountable.”