Nov 27, 2009 8:08 am US/Eastern
NYPD: Hit-And-Run Driver Kills Elderly SI Couple
STATEN ISLAND (CBS) ―
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26-year-old Allmir Lekperic allegedly stuck and killed an elderly couple on Staten Island and left the scene of the accident.
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It was a tragedy on Staten Island when a senior couple was killed, mowed down by a hit-and-run driver.
As friends and family mourn, neighbors say dangerous traffic conditions in the area were an accident waiting to happen.
They were on their way to church mass before Thanksgiving, donations of food to feed the hungry in tow, at about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. That's when police say a white Econoline van driven by 26-year-old Allmir Lekperic hit the elderly couple, and kept going.
Peter Sabados, 78, was killed instantly; his wife, 77-year-old Lillian, died nine hours later. Neighbors say the speeding on streets like New Dorp Lane has been a persistent problem.
"It's getting more and more dangerous just to cross the street," neighbor Evelyn Ruvolo said. "We have this issue every morning – crossing streets just to go to school, there's cars coming from all over.
"This is a tremendous … it's a tragedy, what happened," Evelyn said.
It was more than 6 hours after police say he ran into the couple that Allmir Lekperic turned himself in.
Police charged Lekperic with leaving the scene of an accident and driving with a suspended license. However, so much time had elapsed between the time of the accident, and when he turned himself in, that they could not say for sure whether or not Lekperic had been intoxicated or "under the influence."
Neighbor Nick Ruvolo remembers his neighbors.
"They seemed very happy together; I saw them doing gardening," Nick said. "It's a heartache, especially at Thanksgiving."
The Sabados were on their way to Thanksgiving Eve mass at Our Lady Queen of Peace church when they were struck in the intersection. They were carrying cans of food, to be donated to the poor, that ended up scattered throughout the street.
Just hours before the couple was struck, the church hosted a meeting with police and transportation officials to talk about the problem of speeding.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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