Last night, a couple in their 70s were fatally struck by a vehicle as they were crossing a Staten Island street to attend a church mass. The Staten Island Advance reports, "Lillian Sabados [77] was pronounced dead at Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, at 4 this morning. Her husband, Peter S. Sabados, 78, was pronounced dead shortly after the 7:15 p.m. accident in front of our Our Lady Queen of Peace R.C. Church."
The couple had been crossing New Dorp Lane at 3rd Street when a Ford Econoline van, which did not stop, hit them. The Post reports that a priest from the church "rushed out and performed last rites." The couple had been headed to Thanksgiving Eve mass and had been carrying canned goods to donate to the needy.
According to the Advance, Allmir Lekperic, 26, was later arrested and "charged with leaving the scene of an accident with fatalities, and driving with a suspended license." The paper also notes the cruel irony of the tragedy: "Just hours before" the Sabadoses were killed, "parish leaders met with city officials to discuss dangerous traffic conditions around the church and its school."
