Perpetrator of the crime arrested.
By The American Bazaar Staff
NEW YORK: A woman killed in a hit-and-run incident in Deer Park, New York has been identified as 48-year-old Indian American Jalpa Patel.
Patel was crossing the street on the night of February 7 when she was struck by an SUV driven by Irene Calderaro, 57, who immediately fled the scene but was arrested a short time later, local police said.
The official report states an unidentified woman was crossing Deer Park Avenue at about 8:30 p.m. when she was hit by a blue Jeep Liberty that was travelling north on the road.
Police stated the driver of the Jeep initially stopped but absconded before they reached the scene of the crime. Witnesses were able to provide the authorities with a description of the vehicle.
Calderaro was brought in when officer Kenneth Michaels of the Suffolk County Police Canine Section observed a vehicle travelling northbound on Deer Park Avenue that fit the parameters of the hit-and-run. Michaels was the arresting officer, according to the police report.
Calderaro, who posted $100,000 bond after her arraignment on last Sunday, is due back in court Friday.
Suffolk detectives are steadily trying to piece together Patel’s whereabouts in the final hours of her life, Det. Sgt. John Sumwalt told Newsday.
“We are hoping to re-interview her family at a later time in an attempt at re-creating the period preceding her death,” Sumwalt stated.
Detectives said any witnesses should immediately call the Suffolk County Vehicular Crimes Unit at 631-852-6555 or make anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers at 800-220-8477.