‘She had a good heart’
Daughter of B’klyn hit-run victim mourns loss of her mom
The daughter of a Brooklyn woman killed by an unlicensed hit-and-run driver learned of the devastating death when a police officer answered her mother’s cellphone.
Heartbroken Gladys Perez, still reeling from news of the fatal Wednesday night crash, delivered a message to the accused killer as she mourned the shocking loss of her mom — run down on the street while returning from a nearby babysitting job.
“You took a life,” said the 41-year-old Perez on Thursday. “He could have at least stopped to check if she was OK . ... He could have called 911. I’m glad that they got him. I hope he will know and understand what he has to live with.”
Victim Elizabeth Perez, 60, was pushing a cart filled with toys and art supplies from her time looking after the little boy when she was fatally injured, her daughter said.
Elizabeth Perez was just steps from her Bensonhurt home when fatally injured, with driver Yerlin Garcia, 24, and his Acura TSX both found nearby. Cops said Garcia swerved across a double-yellow line into oncoming traffic, leaving the mortally injured Perez behind as he drove away.
“I’m shocked at what’s happening,” said the dead woman’s younger sister Yvette Arzola, 55. “I haven’t processed (it) . ... He should have stopped.”
A video viewed by the Daily News showed the Acura veering to avoid a group of people standing on Dahill Road near 63rd St. before slamming into the victim and taking off. Perez, who lived nearby with her only daughter, was pronounced dead at Maimonides Medical Center.
Gladys recalled a final phone call from her mother minutes before the crash, asking if she needed anything from a nearby deli.
“There’s a cat that she likes,” said her daughter. “She goes in there and plays with the cat . ... I told her to get whatever she was going to get and come home. When she took too long, that’s when I called.”
Garcia was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, operating a car without insurance and operating an unregistered vehicle.
The victim was diagnosed earlier on the day of her death with severe spinal arthritis and struggled with knee problems, but never let anything affect her upbeat outlook.
“She loved making other people laugh,” said Gladys. “She had a good heart. She loved kids. She loved animals most of all ... two birds and a chinchilla. Those were her babies. And those were her happiness.”
The daughter recalled her mother feeding stray cats in the neighborhood or enjoying a bike ride through the neighborhood.
“Her favorite thing was to ride a bicycle,” said Gladys. “She liked adventure. She liked to dare.”