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Body of Laurence Renard Headed to Florida

By Ben Fractenberg | January 27, 2011 2:29pm
The wardrobe stylist and Upper East Side resident Laurence Renard was fatally struck by a dump truck just one block from her home.
The wardrobe stylist and Upper East Side resident Laurence Renard was fatally struck by a dump truck just one block from her home.
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By Ben Fractenberg

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER EAST SIDE — The body of a fashion stylist run down by a dump truck on the Upper East Side will be transported to Florida Thursday, where her father lives, according to the funeral home sending her body.

Laurence Renard, 35, was fatally struck by the truck as she crossed First Avenue and 91st Street just before 6 p.m. Monday. 

The driver, Diego Tapia-Ulloa, 23, stayed at the scene and has been charged for driving without a license. He was arraigned and is currently free on $500 bail.

Renard’s father, Serge Renard, is a well-known hair stylist in Miami. An employee at the Serge Renard Salon said Serge would not be back in the office until next week and could not be reached for comment.

Flowers were left to memorialize Laurence Renard on a First Avenue sidewalk Tuesday.
Flowers were left to memorialize Laurence Renard on a First Avenue sidewalk Tuesday.
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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

An employee at the Montera Funeral Home in The Bronx confirmed that they retrieved Laurence Renard's body from the city morgue and added that Renard was being flown down to Florida Thursday.

The move happened as investigators began looking into Tapia-Ulloa's trucking company, Mendez Trucking of Belleville, N.J., to find out why he was not listed among their approved drivers, a source said on Thursday.

Investigators are now looking into whether the company shared drivers with another company to try to beat rules that required they hire union drivers, a source said.

"There are a lot of issues that we are currently investigating with respect to Mendez Trucking," said Business Integrity Commission Commissioner Michael J. Mansfield in a statement. Mansfield declined to discuss the details of the investigation.

Renard was remembered as an enthusiastic and well-liked person.

"She was a really lovely girl, who just had a lot of good energy and excitement about working in the fashion industry," said famed photographer Bruce Weber, who worked with Renard on several projects. "She always just had a really nice way about herself."