Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

13-Year-Old Girl Fatally Hit by Car on Way to School, NYPD and Family Says

By  Trevor Kapp Aidan Gardiner and Ben Fractenberg | October 24, 2016 8:32am | Updated on October 24, 2016 3:51pm

 Jazmine Marin died after she and another girl were hit near an Ozone Park school, police said.
Jazmine Marin died after she and another girl were hit near an Ozone Park school, police said.
View Full Caption
Handout and DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp

OZONE PARK — A 13-year-old girl was killed after a car hit her as she and a schoolmate walked across the street to their Ozone Park school Monday, police said.

Jazmine Marin, who lived a short distance from the crash site, was walking across the busy Cross Bay Boulevard, near 149th Avenue, with another 13-year-old girl about 6:40 a.m. when a Chevy sedan hit them about two blocks from Robert H. Goddard middle and high schools, NYPD officials said.

"She was my love. She was the apple of my eyes," Marin's grandmother, Luz Marin, told reporters in Spanish, tears streaming down her cheeks. "That girl was everything to me."

The grandmother added that the girl's father "is devastated," adding that Marin's mother died in 2009.

Firefighters and medical crews arrived at the scene and tried to resuscitate Jazmine — who had suffered a severe head injury — to no avail, witnesses said.

"The Fire Department turned her on her back. They checked her vitals and started pumping her chest. One guy was working on her, but got tired. Then another started pumping but there was no response," Lewis said.

Jazmine was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital, police said.

The driver, a 55-year-old man, stayed on the scene, police said. He wasn't immediately arrested or ticketed, police said.

"We are in the process of looking at video. Interviewing witnesses at this time. And it’s currently being investigated," said NYPD's Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan.

The other girl, whose name wasn't released, was also taken to Jamaica Hospital where she was being treated for a leg wound, police said.

"She was able to walk right before the shock set in. Then she couldn't walk. She was hysterical. She said her leg was hurt," Lewis said.

Relatives and neighbors remembered Marin as a bright girl who loved to draw and enjoyed camping upstate.

"She was beautiful. She was smart. She was happy. She always had a book and was reading," said neighbor Luis Colon, 66.

"She was very close with her father... He raised his daughter beautifully. He took her everywhere he went," Colon said, choking back tears.

Department of Education officials said they were working with staff at the girls' school to provide "crisis resources and services" for those who need them.

"I am deeply saddened by this tragic loss and my heartfelt condolences are with the student's family and the entire school community during this very difficult time," said DOE Chancellor Carmen Fariña.

Locals have complained about the intersection, and have called for re-zoning students to prevent them having to cross the busy intersection — where a pedestrian was killed in 2012 and another was hurt in 2014, according to city data.

Marin said the city should make the intersection less dangerous. 

"If they need extra safety, they should put it there," the grandmother added, saying her daughter took an MTA bus to school.