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Brooklyn Bakery Worker Killed By Hit-And-Run Driver
By
Sophia Chang
Published Feb 24, 2020
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By
Sophia Chang
Published Feb 24, 2020
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Two pedestrians were fatally struck by drivers in Brooklyn and Queens on Sunday, including a hit-and-run incident in Bensonhurst.
Around 7:25 a.m. Sunday morning, Jose Contla was walking on 19th Avenue near 86th Street in Bensonhurst when the driver of a black sedan hit him and continued on 19th Avenue, according to police. Contla, 26, of Sunset Park was found unconscious on the sidewalk and brought to Maimonides Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. The police are seeking the unidentified driver who fled the scene -- security camera video shows a small four-door black vehicle driving south on 19th Avenue.
Contla was walking to work at nearby bakery Panaderia La Authentica on 86th Street when he was struck, his brother Emanuel Contla told amNewYork. His wife Marisol Contla told CBS that they had been together since high school.
"He would tell me 'we're going to get through it, we're going to do something. We're going to have a big house, kids,'" Marisol Contla said. "Here we are. I'm alone again without him."
He wanted to become a lawyer and was working at the bakery to pay for school at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, his family said.
Contla's sister Arleen Soto beseeched the driver who fled the scene to go to the police: "I want you to know he was loved and if you're out there please give yourself in because you're going to get caught."
Anyone with information about the driver who killed Contla should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
Hours after Contla was run over, an 88-year-old woman was killed by a man driving a van in Bayside.
Dolores Soho was walking across Bell Boulevard at the intersection of 48th Avenue around 1:30 p.m. when she was hit by a 60-year-old man driving a 2006 Ford van who was turning left onto Bell.
Soho was taken to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset where she was pronounced dead.
The driver remained at the scene and has not been charged. The NYPD says the investigation is ongoing.
This year so far, 23 people have died in motor vehicle collisions in NYC, including 12 pedestrians.
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Sophia Chang
Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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