NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A hit-and-run driver crashed into another car on a Queens freeway early Friday morning, killing a married couple who were on their way to work, the NYPD and relatives said.
A driver in a 2011 Dodge Ram was speeding east on Rockaway Freeway in Far Rockaway around 5:05 a.m. on Friday when the car crashed into a 2019 Nissan Rogue traveling north on Ocean Crest Boulevard, police said.
The Nissan Rogue's occupants, Thelma Reid, 60, and Donovan Gibbon, 57, were taken to a nearby hospital with body and head trauma, the NYPD said. Both were pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. Family members confirmed that the two were married.
The Dodge Ram driver fled the scene on foot and hadn’t been arrested as of Friday afternoon, the NYPD said.
The couple lived just down the road from where the crash took place, relatives said, adding that they were on their way to work when their car was hit.
“We weren’t expecting this,” Gibbon’s sister told 1010 WINS. “After all that we have dealt with in 2020, we were really looking for a bright 2021. And then this happened.”
A 37-year-old man and a 33-year-old man who were riding in the Dodge Ram as passengers stayed at the scene, police said.
The 37-year-old was hospitalized with cuts to his head, according to police. The 33-year-old was taken into custody and charged with obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct, the NYPD said.
An investigation is ongoing.