Retired NYPD Officer Killed In Brooklyn Hit-And-Run; Suspect Charged
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn man faces numerous charges in connection with a hit-and-run crash that claimed the life of a retired NYPD officer and left nine other people injured.
Investigators determined 24-year-old Michael McBean was behind the wheel of a 2010 Mercedes-Benz Thursday evening when he struck a car stopped at a traffic light on Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York, police said.
According to officials, the Mercedes-Benz then hit 56-year-old Yvette Molina as she was trying to get into her car. She was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where she later died.
As McBean tried to drive away, the Mercedes-Benz hit another car, resulting in a chain reaction of crashes that left six vehicles damaged and nine people with non-life threatening injuries, CBS2's Scott Rapoport reported.
McBean then got out and fled on foot but was caught a short time later, police said. Police had said the driver of the Mercedes-Benz tried to carjack at least one vehicle as part of his getaway.
McBean is now charged with attempted robbery, leaving the scene of an accident which resulted in a death, obstruction of governmental administration and disorderly conduct.
Meanwhile, distraught relatives and friends describe Molina as a kind person who had a penchant for looking after the neighborhood cats and above all had a deep and abiding love for the church.
"Very loving person, very spiritual, very religious," said retired NYPD Detective Verna McLean. "She would drive members of the church to church upstate."
"It was a six car pile up and she was the only fatality," the victim's niece, Janna Bolt, said. "She was so loving, she was so caring."
McLean told 1010 WINS' Holli Haerr that Molina was also a breast cancer survivor who always looked out for others.
"Anything needing help, she would assist in any way possible," she said.
At the apartment complex where Molina lived, her devastated sister with whom she lived with was overcome with grief.
"Sorry, I can't talk to anyone right now, OK? Thank you very much, please respect our privacy," she said before closing the door.
Molina is a retired NYPD officer from the 77th Precinct, with 25 years on the job.
