A Staten Island single mom rammed by a hit-and-run BMW driver at a yard sale on her first Father’s Day without her beloved dad has died, said her outraged family, who called the still-at-large luxury car operator a “coward” for fleeing the scene.
“There’s no reason he should have been speeding. He’s a coward,” Diana Rolon’s niece, Cynthia Feliciano told the Daily News Friday. “Now there’s a family that’s heartbroken and lost a beautiful person because of his selfish act.”
“We are disgusted that you can hit someone, a single mother,” Cynthia’s sister, Emily Feliciano, called out to the hit-and-run driver at the scene Thursday. “You hit her and you left.”
Rolon, 60, was at the sale just a few blocks from her home when the white BMW SUV heading south on Decker Ave. mowed her down, before speeding off toward Post Ave. in Port Richmond about 4:18 p.m. on Sunday, according to cops.
“It was her first Father’s Day without her father, who passed in August of last year. He was older, in his 80s and he was sick and not doing well,” Cynthia said. “She was devastated from that loss.”
Diana Rolon (far right) is pictured with her sister Sylvia (far left) and parents, Juan and Elena. (Courtesy of Family)
Rolon suffered an intracranial hemorrhage and was “immediately intubated” and rushed to Richmond University Medical Center in critical condition where she underwent emergency brain surgery, her family said in an online fundraiser. Her right arm and left leg were also fractured and she said several fractures to her face.
“Initially we had a little bit of hope after the procedure was over and then the next day she lost reflexes so they said that the probability of survival was very low,” her niece, Cynthia said.
After doctors declared her brain dead, she died Thursday, leaving behind her 17-year-old son Michael, who just graduated from Michael J. Petrides High School, relatives said.
Instead of celebrating the achievement, the teen spent several days and nights at his mother’s bedside, holding on to hope for her recovery. Now he’s planning her funeral.
“He’s taking it really hard. He’s been really emotional and we’ve just been trying to support him and have him lean on us during this time,” said Cynthia. “He’s been really, really devastated.”
Diana Rolon (center) is pictured with her family on her 60th birthday. (GoFundMe)
Before the accident, Rolon had been looking forward to a now-canceled graduation party she planned for her son on Saturday.
“She was really excited about that. She rented a place. She was calling a lot of people in the family, talking about the party, and then all of this kind of happened,” Cynthia said. “She was an amazing caregiver and mom. Her son was always her priority and he remained her priority her whole life up until the day that she passed.”
“He was the number one thing on her mind,” she said.
Diana Rolon (far left) is pictured with her family in an undated photo. (GoFundMe)
The hit-and-run driver remained at large Friday.
“She was extremely loving and selfless and always put people in front of herself. She was always very thoughtful and caring and kind,” her niece Cynthia added. “She was a family person.”
Rolon worked as a paraprofessional at PS 373R, located in Tompkinsville.
Diana Rolon is pictured with her son, Michael, at his high school graduation. (GoFundMe)
The family had raised $26,712 of their $100,000 goal as of Friday to cover Rolon’s funeral and memorial, along with remaining medical bills.
Rolon’s niece said the stretch of Decker Ave. near the scene has no speed bumps or cameras to slow drivers down.
“People go flying down that street,” Cynthia said. “There needs to be change on that block and things need to be put in place so that this doesn’t happen again to someone else. Even if it’s a stop sign, a police presence.”
Anyone with information about the hit-and-run driver is asked to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.