What to Know
- The father of a 26-year-old woman struck and killed by a taxi driver on Queens Boulevard over the weekend says he'll never forgive him
- The woman was hit by the driver as he was leaving a gas station; the driver was released without charges
- The victim's father cried as he spoke of his daughter, describing her as loving and beautiful
The father of a 26-year-old woman struck and killed by a green taxi on Queens Boulevard over the weekend says the family is in shock over losing their daughter and can't believe the driver isn't facing any charges.
"Oh, my God, she was so caring, so loving, such a beautiful daughter, only 26 years old," Prakash Hundalani cried Monday as he mourned his daughter Sherena. "I can't believe this. We cannot believe this. Our family is totally torn apart."
Sherena Hundalani was walking on the sidewalk to pick up her mother around 4 p.m. Sunday, just minutes from her home, when she was struck by a green taxi leaving a gas station at Queens Boulevard and 63rd Drive.
"She was just standing on the sidewalk, waiting for a signal to go red so she could walk and cross," her father said.
The 55-year-old taxi driver kept going, but good Samaritans ran after him. He eventually stopped about 10 minutes away in Corona and police took him in for questioning, but released him without charges, infuriating the victim's father.
"What was his condition that he ran over her on the sidewalk when pedestrians were standing there?" Prakash Hundalani demanded. "She was the only one waiting for a signal, it looks like."
"I will never forgive the taxi driver," he said. "I don't know how you can hit her on the sidewalk."
Local
Prakash Hundalani said the medical office called him to pick up his daughter's body for the funeral. He and his family tried to run their restaurant business as usual Monday but found themselves unable to without their main server and youngest daughter.
"She was the best," he cried.
Neighbor Matthew Brito said he didn't understand how the taxi driver couldn't have known he'd hit someone when people were chasing after him to stop him.
"I'm at a loss for words," he said. "I'm still tearing up. I was crying all last night."
Workers at the gas station where the taxi pulled out said they've handed over surveillance video to police. The investigation is ongoing, but police said Monday evening that the driver had been released without charges.
