Mother fatally struck while out on daily walk with her kids in Amagansett, friend says
Yuris Murillo Cruz with her husband, Wilson Murillo, and their children Michelle, left, and Gael. Credit: Angelica Marta
Going for a daily walk in her Amagansett neighborhood to pick up her oldest daughter from school was Yuris Murillo Cruz's coronavirus pandemic routine — for exercise, fresh air, stress relief, and just a break from the cramped one-bedroom apartment she shared with her husband and children.
"The kids don't have a place to play and run around," a longtime friend, Angelica Marta, said Thursday. Those walks, she said, were a way "to not be cooped up in the tiny room."
Murillo Cruz, 36, was returning Wednesday from one of her milelong walks — having picked up her daughter, Michelle, 4, and pushing a stroller with her and son Gael, 18 months — when, police said, the distracted driver of a pickup truck, Mark Corrado Jr., 28, of West Babylon, allegedly struck her fatally on the Montauk Highway shoulder.
A news release about the crash said it happened at about 11:42 a.m. on the highway's eastbound shoulder, east of Old Montauk Highway.
East Hampton Town Police investigate the scene where a mother was struck and killed while pushing a stroller with her two children on Montauk Highway on Wednesday. Credit: Gordon M. Grant
A police supervisor overseeing the case, Det. Sgt. Daniel Toia of the East Hampton Town police, said Corrado wasn’t paying attention at the time. After striking Murillo Cruz with the 1997 Dodge pickup, Corrado allegedly fled, abandoned the vehicle nearby, then turned himself in later in the day as the police were pursuing leads, Toia said.
"We found the vehicle stashed in a wooded area" on Gilberts Path, a short distance away, Toia said. After turning himself in, Toia said Corrado "admitted to his involvement" in the crash.
Corrado was later arraigned on a felony charge of leaving the scene of a fatal crash, and he was freed without bail.
Corrado could not be reached for comment, and court records do not list an attorney for him.
Investigators don’t believe Corrado was intoxicated, Toia said, but "driver inattention" was among the causes.
The speed limit there is 35 mph, and investigators are awaiting the crash reconstruction to determine how fast Corrado was traveling, Toia said.
Michelle Murillo, 4, and Gael Murillo, in foreground, 18 months, at Stony Brook University Hospital. Credit: Angelica Marta
After the crash, Murillo Cruz could not be resuscitated. Her children were flown by helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital, where they were in stable condition Thursday, Toia said.
Marta said she visited the children at the hospital, where they are sharing a room. On Thursday evening, Michelle was coloring with markers and Gael watched a cartoon as their dad, Wilson, who works as a landscaper, checked on them.
"Right now," Marta said, "he's just trying to be strong for his children, you know?"
Marta has set up a GoFundMe account for funeral and medical expenses. As of 8 p.m. Friday, $68,280 from 770 donors had been raised.
Marta said Murillo Cruz was originally from El Salvador and a stay-at-home mom.
"She was walking there like she always does," Marta said of the crash Wednesday. "She's been walking back and forth from her house to the school for about a year now with no problem."
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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