Cops on Tuesday cuffed a Brighton Beach woman for driving away after hitting and killing another woman as she crossed a Gravesend street earlier that day.
The 55-year-old motorist behind the wheel of a Ford Econoline van driving on W. Second Street towards Shore Parkway smashed into 57-year-old Francine Labarbara around 8 am while making a left turn onto Avenue Y, as the Labarbara crossed that avenue, police said.
Responders rushed to the scene and found the victim, who lived in Gravesend, unconscious on the pavement with trauma to her head and body — but no sign of the driver, who rode off after the fatal crash, according to authorities.
Paramedics rushed the victim to Coney Island Hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead.
Officials caught up with their suspect around 11:50 pm, arresting her on charges including leaving the scene of an accident, failure to yield to a pedestrian, and failure to exercise due care, police said.
Labarbara worked at popular Williamsburg breakfast joint The Bagel Store — known for its signature, rainbow-colored boiled bread — according to employees, who took to social media shortly after the fatal incident to mourn the loss of their beloved colleague.
“She worked tirelessly, seeking every opportunity to further the work she believed in with all her heart,” the store’s staff wrote in an Instagram post.
