Hit-run anguish
A 56yearold Brooklyn woman who was killed on Thanksgiving by an outofcontrol hitandrun driver was a churchgoing, retired NYPD cop who spent her time taking care of stray cats, friends and family said on Friday.
Yvette Molina, a breastcancer survivor, was getting into her Toyota Sienna van in East New York at about 7:15 p.m. Thursday when Michael McBean slammed his white MercedesBenz sedan into her, authorities said. The crash left 11 other people injured.
“She was so loving. She was so caring,” said Molina’s tearful niece Janna Bolt, 28. “She was very into her church, her spirituality. She loved everybody. She was a cat lover. She just did all she could.”
Molina, who retired from the NYPD about 10 years ago after a nearly 20year career, stopped into a nearby deli to buy a newspaper just before she was struck at Linden Boulevard and Pennsylvania Avenue, Bolt said.
“I was devastated,” she said. “It’s Thanksgiving. Who wants to find out their family member passed away on Thanksgiving?”
Retired Detective Verna McLean, 54, who worked with Molina in Brooklyn’s 77th Precinct, said she was always giving stray cats a home.
Molina cared for at least 10 cats in the Louisiana Avenue home she shared with her sister for the past 23 years.
“She took in all stray cats,” McLean said. “If there was a stray cat, she would take him in and take care of him. She was a diligent worker, very loving person, very religious.”
Molina often offered rides to fellow congregants to the church she belonged to in Nyack, McLean said.
Bolt recalled that her aunt always used to recount stories from her days as a beat cop.
“She would come home and tell us stories about how they rescued a cat or how they went into a burning building . . . It’s the hard work, putting your life on the line, helping to protect the people you serve,” she said.
McBean, the driver, struck four other vehicles in the crash, injuring 11 people in them, police said.
He tried to carjack several vehicles in a wild attempt to flee the scene, police said.
McBean hit a Nissan Murano that was stopped at a stoplight before plowing into Molina.
While trying to flee, McBean caused a pileup when he hit a Dodge Caravan that, in turn, slammed into a Dodge Charger, which then hit an Audi Q7, cops said. All of the cars had been stopped at a red light.
McBean then tried to flee on foot and was chased by city EMS medics, police said.
Struggling to escape them, Mc Bean allegedly ran back to the scene of the crash and ultimately into the arms of police.
McBean was charged Friday with attempted robbery, obstruction of governmental administration, disorderly conduct and leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death.
He has five prior arrests on his record, including two for driving with a suspended license, police sources said. He had two sealed arrests.