Roslyn Heights, NY – Police made an arrest in the hit-and-run death of an elderly woman in Roslyn Heights.
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Police charged 26-year-old Thomas Krauss with leaving the scene of an accident.
Krauss, according to authorities, was the person driving the vehicle that struck 81-year-old Vaghar Giae on Warner Avenue and Carlyle Place on Monday.
Krauss is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday.
CBS 2 HD spoke with Giae’s grieving daughter on Tuesday.
“You don’t need to see me crying. You don’t need to see my sister crying. We had a big loss, a big loss for the whole community. Because every lady that you see here, they used to say hello and walk together. So she is gone, she went just for a little walk that’s all,” the daughter said.
“A little walk” crossing her quiet street that Giae, a frail grandmother, didn’t survive.
Giae was killed Monday evening, ironically on the anniversary of her own father’s death. Nassau Police said force of the impact from the speeding hit-and-run driver sent her body 75 feet down Warner Avenue. There were no skid marks.
“She was an elderly female using a cane, struck by an unknown light colored vehicle possibly an SUV,” Detective Sgt. Richard Laursen said.
“You’d stop for any animals. I’d stop for a dog or a cat, so how could you possibly hit a person and take off?” neighbor Joan Piccardo said.
Giae’s neighbors said her horrible, needless death has galvanized them.
“My children and I are always out here walking, when there’s a stop you think someone’s going to stop. It is scary,” homeowner Sydney Samuels said.
“They just blow right through the stop sign, all the time, constantly,” homeowner Bob Lausen said.
The victim taught Hebrew school in her youth, was a pillar of the religious community here, and now Chabad of Roslyn, where she often walked to, had to quickly plan her funeral.
“We know the family personally. The woman’s grandchildren come to our Hebrew school,” Rabbi Yaakov Reiter said.
“This woman was a very good woman, very family-oriented, really just out to do the best for everybody,” Devorah Reiter said.
How did they find him?
Baruch Dayan HaEmes.
Is Thomas Krauss a jew?
He must be a German. Thomas Krauss.
The name Krauss is often Jewish. I hope this individual is not Jewish. From ancestry.com “Krauss Name Meaning and History. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Kraus.”
who cares if hes a jew or not…you people are missing the point. he killed someone and ran away leaving a family in distraught. but you dont know the circumstance so stop discussing petty things that have no relevence.
I am so sorry to hear about your mother..so so very very sad…
to the victim’s family
i send my deepest condolences. i would like to attend shiva, if at all possible.
if you are interested in hearing what i witnessed, myself, before the police arrived, and if you would like to know my theories of how your loved one was discovered, i would be willing to share that with you. you may call me at 206 8888 333 and leave a message with your name and phone number and i will call you back.
Who cares what religion Tom is?? What he did was a mistake. Unfortunately, it was a fatal mistake and as a young person, he was frightened and didn’t know what to do. I have known Tom since he was a child, and he is a good person. Everyone makes mistakes, no one here is completely innocent. While I am assuming no one here accidentally (accidental being the key word) killed anyone, we have made mistakes as well. Knowing Tom, I know that he is very sorry for his actions and would trade places with the elderly lady in a heartbeat. Everyone here is so quick to judge, but no one is innocent on here.