Crime & Public Safety

Woman dies in hit-and-run after pushing 7-year-old daughter out of oncoming car’s path

By Crystal Bonvillian
Oct 10, 2016
A Connecticut woman is being credited with giving her own life to save her 7-year-old daughter from a hit-and-run driver.

Police told the Record-Journal in Meriden, Connecticut, that Dania Cegeno-Delrosario, 40, and her daughter were crossing a local street Friday night when Cegeno-Delrosario saw the oncoming vehicle. She pushed her daughter out of the way, but was struck a moment later. She died a few hours later at a hospital in Hartford, where she was airlifted for treatment.

Cegeno-Delrosario's daughter received only minor scrapes in the accident, from which the driver fled, the Record-Journal reported.

A homeowner near the crash site told the newspaper he first learned of the crash when he heard Cegeno-Delrosario’s daughter screaming.

"I heard a kid scream and it sounded like my own daughter," Giuseppe Capparella said. "She just kept saying, 'Mommy's dead, mommy's dead."

Capparella said he and other residents who ran to help found Cegeno-Delrosario’s body lying underneath a parked SUV, where the impact apparently threw her. He said he called 911 and first responders arrived a few minutes later.

Brandon Clark, who lives in the building where Cegeno-Delrosario's family lives, told the Record-Journal that Cegeno-Delrosario and her husband are "really nice people." Cegeno-Delrosario, who is a native of the Dominican Republic, moved into the building a couple of years ago.

Her husband moved to America about four months ago, Clark said.

Police said no firsthand witnesses have come forward with details of the collision, but they are reviewing surveillance footage from nearby businesses the Record-Journal reported. A side mirror found at the scene is from a Nissan vehicle, and investigators said the suspect's vehicle likely has a missing mirror and damage to the front, driver's side quarter.

Anyone with information on the fatal hit-and-run is asked to call the Meriden Police Department at 203-630-6215.

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Crystal Bonvillian

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