A Father's Day outing turned into a nightmare for one family on Staten Island. According to Eyewitness News, a hit and run in a quiet neighborhood has left a 60-year-old woman fighting for her life, while the driver who struck her fled the scene and has not been found.
The victim has been identified by her family as Diana Rowland, a woman they describe as a beloved mother, sister and aunt. She was declared brain dead and remains in the hospital on life support, as relatives gather at her bedside and say they are still praying for a miracle.
Her family explained what she had been doing in the moments before she was struck. Diana Rowland had crossed the street to reach her parked car, where she wanted to grab some cash for a find at a yard sale, an ordinary errand on an ordinary day in her own neighborhood.
Surveillance video captured the seconds before the crash. The footage shows a speeding white BMW racing down the street moments before it slammed into her, with her family saying the car was tearing along the block for no apparent reason.
The setting was a typical Staten Island residential street, the kind with long blocks that, her relatives said, some reckless drivers treat like a highway. She had been standing near a double-parked car when the speeding vehicle came through, giving her little chance to get out of the way.
For now, the family is left holding on to hope and to memories. They are remembering Diana Rowland's joyful energy even as they wait by her hospital bed, while the driver who hit her remains on the run, and the search for whoever was behind the wheel continues.