A beloved Queens grandmother was struck and killed on her way home from a birthday celebration with friends last night, authorities said.
Concetta DiBenedetto, 78, was walking along 92nd Street – about a block from her home – when she was struck crossing 164th Street by a 2005 Jeep.
She was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Police said the incident was an accident.
Family members were devastated.
“Today was her birthday and she was going out for lunch with her friends and one of her friend’s daughter was dropping her home,” said daughter Maria, 52.
“And my mother hates putting people out of their way, so she asked to be dropped at the corner,” where she was struck.
The daughter, who works near the accident, said she saw paramedics working on her mother, “pounding on her heart so much I knew she had to be dead.”
“Our father passed away a few years ago , but she loved to hang out with her friends,” Maria added. “She was 78-years-old but she was full of life.”
The daughter said her mom, who was born in Sicily and worked as a seamstress, “loved to be on the computer playing cards and chatting with her friends – she always had a smile on her face.”
Neighbors agreed that DeBenedetto was an amazing friend.
“She was a real family lady,” said Philip Dioliggi, 59, who is retired and lives near DiBenedetto’s house.
The distraught daughter said her mother was “a beautiful woman, and everybody knew it.”
“I’m not just saying that because she’s my mother; everyone believed that about her.”
She is survived by her four children and four grandchildren.
“We were planning to have a [birthday] cake for her on Sunday, but for tonight everyone was going to come to the house,” said Maria.