Deadly Bayside hit-and-run

BY PETE DAVIS, TONIA N. CIMINO & CHRISTINA SANTUCCI
A deadly hit and run accident involving a red dump truck that struck and killed an Asian woman on Northern Boulevard led to a massive manhunt in the streets of Bayside involving dozens of NYPD officers, SWAT team members and a blood hound culminating in one suspect being taken away from a house at 213th Street and 38th Avenue.
According to police sources, the vehicle owned by Valenza Contractors Inc. allegedly struck and killed the woman at 223rd Street and Northern Boulevard near a Burger King at 2:29 p.m. on Wednesday, September 6. The truck left the scene of the accident and continued on to 217th Street where as many as two suspects abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot, leading cops on a more than two-hour pursuit.
As Police helicopters circled above, a bloodhound named Chase was brought to the area, and police began searching for the pair of suspects, believed to be Hispanic. Chase led his handlers to the McDonald’s on Bell Boulevard and then into Bourbon Street Restaurant and up to the Citibank branch located on 39th Avenue, according to police sources.
Police officers entered the Citibank branch and obtained the lobby security tapes to see if the suspects entered the bank.
The manhunt came to an end at a three-story multiple dwelling apartment house at 213-53 38th Avenue. Swat team members approached the building with great caution armed with bulletproof shields and flack jackets only to find the door open.
Upon entering, they discovered an 8-year-old child, home alone on the second floor, as well as one male that they believed to be a suspect they had been pursuing, according to police on the scene. As of press time, it was not clear if the suspect the police removed from the house was the only person in the car that allegedly struck and killed the Asian woman.
After police removed the suspect and questioned him outside the house, a man who was believed to be the father of the child in the house arrived at the scene and police began questioning him as well.
Phil Vozzo, who rents the garage next to the house where the alleged suspect was removed, said that as many as six families may have been living there.