A 19-year-old college student sent a selfie to her family moments before a sleeping driver plowed into her on a Queens sidewalk where she was waiting to meet her younger sister, it has been revealed.
Ava Conklin had just finished a shift as a hostess at the luxurious Rockaway Hotel and was waiting at a bus stop to meet her 14-year-old sibling Peyton for a picnic in Central Park. She sent a selfie to her family at 2.14pm Saturday.
Tragically, at 2.17pm, a 29-year-old driving a 2021 Hyundai Venue mounted the sidewalk at Rockaway Beach Blvd. and Beach 108th St., plowing into the teenager who was sitting on a bench at the bus stop.
Her sister stepped off a bus, texting 'I'm here', only to see Ava's lifeless body sprawled on the floor, the Daily News reports.
Peyton, who said Ava's favorite music was still playing in her headphones after she was hit, recognized her sister's purse and the back of her head as she lay on the ground wounded.
Ava Conklin sent this selfie to her family moments before a sleeping driver plowed into her on a Queens sidewalk
Ava was sat on a bench waiting for her sister to arrive when the car mounted the curb and killed her
'All I could do was scream,' Peyton told the Daily News. 'A bunch of people tried to calm me down but I told them, 'Don't try to calm me down! That's my sister!'
Ava's heartbroken stepmother, Jennifer Duffy, added: 'How does four minutes change your whole life?'
Peyton, who said she 'idolized' her sister was eventually pulled away from the horrifying scene by two firefighters before their father arrived to find his daughter dying. He was devastated to find out that he was not allowed to enter the ambulance as she passed away.
Medics rushed the injured college student to Brookdale University Hospital but despite their efforts, she did not survive.
An NYPD spokesman confirmed that police took the driver into custody and questioned him, but he was later released without charges. He could yet face charges as police continue to probe the fatal crash.
Cops said that the unnamed driver was going west on Rockaway Beach Blvd. when he fell asleep at the wheel. He was driving in the right lane, which turned into a sidewalk and he came up on to the curb.
He slammed into three metal benches where Ava was waiting for her sister to arrive. The impact of the crash caused severe chest trauma.
Ava sent this photo of herself with two thumbs up from work on Friday. She tragically died the next day
Ava's favorite music was still playing in her headphones after she was hit, according to her sister Peyton
Peyton called her stepmom immediately but the phone call dropped. Ms Duffy, who felt something was wrong, then received a phone call from a man who said: 'You're daughter was just hit by a car,' before he hung up.
As well as Saturday's selfie, Ava had also sent her family a picture of herself giving two thumbs up while at work on Friday - the day before she was fatally struck.
Ms Duffy was told that the driver worked for an auto body shop and had been delivering parts overnight. But she still could not understand how he fell asleep, claiming he would have had to had swerved past cars to hit her daughter.
Ava, who had just finished her first year as a Psychology student in Vermont, was living in Hell's Kitchen with her mother. She dreamed of having children of her own one day, it's reported.
Ava's father, who lives in Broad Channel, was too heartbroken to speak about her daughter Sunday.
The teenager was described as the 'emotional mediator' by Peyton, while her stepmom said she 'really stepped in as a big sister' when the eldest sibling went to the military.
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