Hindu community in NY mourns after Uber slammed by Lamborghini, killing Guyanese woman - driver flees

Hindu community in NY mourns after Uber slammed by Lamborghini, killing Guyanese woman – driver flees

Dec 27, 2020 News

Killed: Ritawantee ‘Aunty Rita’ Persaud

The accident scene.

Kaieteur News – The Guyanese Hindu community of New York is in deep mourning after a prominent mandir member was killed tragically on Christmas Eve day.
The New York Daily News reported that Ritawantee ‘Aunty Rita’ Persaud planned to forgo her annual gathering with friends on Christmas Eve due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but changed her mind at the last minute and ordered an Uber to a small get-together, hoping to spread some cheer.
Persaud, 54, made it just five blocks from her Ozone Park home in the back of a black 2018 Toyota Camry before she was killed by a heartless hit-and-run driver who remains on the loose.
According to the news report, Persaud’s 50-year-old Uber driver was making a left from Rockaway Blvd. onto 103rd Ave. when the car was hit by a man driving a Lamborghini Urus SUV about 7:05 p.m. Thursday, police said.
The Lamborghini overturned from the impact while the Camry was left a twisted wreck on the sidewalk next to a church.
Persaud devoted her life to helping her community and fundraising for local Hindu temples. She had no kids but was considered a mother figure by the many children whose lives she touched through her community work.
“She won the hearts of many, many children because she dedicated her life to a lot of childrens’ activities in the temples,” said Sandra Sankar, 57, the victim’s friend since they were children growing up in Guyana together.
Persaud immigrated to the U.S. about two decades ago and worked as an accountant in Queens — when she wasn’t singing in local temples.
“She was a selfless individual,” Sankar said. “We think we’re only here to grab and grab and take for ourselves but this is a young individual who would just give and give.”
Persaud died at Jamaica Hospital from head and body trauma, police said. Medics took her Uber driver to the same hospital in stable condition with head and leg injuries.
“She had only (just) stepped into that vehicle — maybe for two or three minutes — and bam,” said Sankar.
Her cousin, Deurani Ghani, wrote on Facebook that Persaud was “always there for everyone, family, friends, co-workers kids and even strangers.”
“Our entire Queens Hindu community lost a gem of a soul tonight,” wrote Persaud’s nephew Vikash Misir. “Never once have I seen her in a negative mood. She may be upset but always has a huge smile on her face and does what she has to make sure everyone around her is happy.”
The Lamborghini driver who killed Persaud ran off on foot after the crash, leaving his 26-year-old passenger behind in the flipped SUV, according to cops. Medics took her to Jamaica Hospital in stable condition with head and spine injuries.
Cops were still hunting for the Lamborghini driver Friday. Police sources said they found marijuana in his flipped SUV.
Sankar hopes police soon catch up with her friend’s killer.
“He cannot give back that life,” she said. “But at least he should be punished and he should be taught a lesson that you know what, you need to take care. Because we all know what goes around comes around, right?”
There was an outpouring of love on social media yesterday from Guyana as well with persons recalling Persaud’s work in the mandirs, even in Guyana.