Family heartbroken after deadly Queens moped crash: "My Christmases will never be the same."
A family is mourning after their father was hit by a moped driver and killed while crossing the street in Queens on Friday.
Trevor Samuels, 68, was fatally struck in a crosswalk near 168th Street and 93rd Avenue in the Jamaica section, police said.
Police said the driver, 26-year-old Yunior Rodriguez Buleje, stayed at the scene and has been charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
The victim's oldest daughter, 45-year-old Kievette Samuels, said she broke down when police delivered the unthinkable news.
"Yelling, screaming. 'It's not true. Are you serious? Oh my God,'" she said. "It took away something that cannot be replaced."
She said her father had been out shopping for gifts at the time of the crash, and he was supposed to fly back to his native Jamaica next week to visit family he hadn't seen in three years.
"Glad that there was an arrest, but it still doesn't bring him back. And it was senseless," Kievette Samuels said. "It was senseless. You took him away. He was about to go home."
Kievette Samuels said her father proudly worked for years as a correctional officer in Kingston and was always by the book. She described him as smart, thoughtful and blessed with a memory like no other.
"My Christmases will never be the same because every time December rolls around, it's going to always be a permanent memory," she said.
Kievette Samuels said her family is now broken before the holidays as they try to raise money to bring their father's body back to Jamaica so his other four children can say a proper goodbye. The victim's youngest daughter, who is just 17, was supposed to fly back to America with him after his trip to the island.
"He took away, you know, the time that she could have been here with him, for him to show her around," Kievette Samuels said.
As the eldest in the family, Kievette Samuels said it's now up to her to keep the precious memories of their father alive.