CONCOURSE — A 3-year-old girl walking to preschool with her mom and a sibling Monday morning was hit and killed, the NYPD said — less than two miles from where her uncle had been mowed down years earlier.
Little Mariam Dansoko was crossing East 164th Street at Gerard Avenue a few steps behind her mother, Rougui Kebe, 30, just blocks from their home, when she was struck by a 21-year-old man making a left turn in his 2014 Nissan shortly after 8 a.m., authorities said.
"Before the car hits her, she said 'Mommy, the car is coming,'" Kebe said as she held back tears recounting the morning's events to reporters at the family's apartment. "Before I look back the car hits her right away."
The little girl was taken to Lincoln Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival, NYPD said.
Tragically, it was not the first time Kebe, whose family emigrated from the West African nation of Guinea, witnessed a relative fatally struck by a car.
In 2012, when she was pregnant with Mariam, Kebe watched in horror as her 4-year-old brother, Ebrahim Kebe, was killed by a Chrysler minivan as he ran into the street near the family's home on Topping Ave between 174 and 175 Streets.
Family members were shocked to hear the news of Mariam's death just a few years after the loss of Ebrahim under such similar circumstances.
"I don't know why this is happening again. It's kind of crazy," said Mohamed Kebe, 28, the brother of Ebrahim and uncle of Mariam. "It's like a curse or something."
Mariam, who loved Dora the Explorer, was walking to the head start school she attended near their apartment.
"She liked everybody, she's so friendly," Kebe said. "She's an angel."
Kebe and her 2-year-old child who she was pushing in a stroller at the time of the incident were not hit, according to NYPD.
"I'm going to miss her," Kebe said. "I cannot bring her back. I'm just trying to be strong."
The driver remained on the scene. The NYPD's Highway Collision Investigation Squad is continuing to investigate, police said.
South Bronx Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson said she would talk to the Department of Transportation about making possible improvements to the intersection once she received more details about the girl's death.
"This is obviously a tragedy," she said. "I’m heartbroken."
