![\"Intersection](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/32DHJFVM65DWXPWW6UC4MOUA5U.jpg\")
A crosswalk running along Buel Avenue at the intersection with Mason Avenue in Dongan Hills as seen on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.(Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)<\/p>\nSTATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — An Emerson Hill resident is asking anyone with identifying information about a vehicle responsible for a recent hit-and-run in Dongan Hills to come forward.<\/p>\n
In the wake of the Dec. 9 hit-and-run that sent her 61-year-old aunt to the hospital, Aida Vata, 35, has gone door-to-door in the hopes of finding some identifying footage.<\/p>\n
According to police, it was reported that the 61-year-old woman was crossing the street in the vicinity of Mason and Buel Avenues around 5:10 p.m. on Tuesday. At that time, an unidentified vehicle struck the woman and fled the scene, the NYPD said.<\/p>\n
Aida believes the vehicle that struck her aunt, Merita Vata, was a white SUV.<\/p>\n
Merita, who also lives on Emerson Hill, was on her way home from work at the time of the incident; she is a home health aide.<\/p>\n
Aida told the Advance\/SILive.com that her aunt was walking toward Hylan Boulevard along Buel Avenue and was crossing Mason Avenue when the vehicle – traveling towards Seaview Avenue – failed to stop.<\/p>\n
Upon being struck on her left side, Merita fell to the ground and suffered what police identified as \u201cminor\u201d injuries.<\/p>\n
However, Aida contests these were not just minor injuries. According to her, Merita suffered internal bleeding in her leg that required emergency surgery to relieve pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was about to have her leg amputated if she didn\u2019t have that emergency surgery,\u201d Aida said.<\/p>\n
Moreover, Merita sustained a broken wrist, a blood clot and widespread bruising about her body, Aida said. <\/p>\n
Aida added that the damage done to her aunt\u2019s leg and wrist may require additional surgeries.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe (Merita) was in shock at the moment of the accident, she didn\u2019t remember anything at all,\u201d Aida told the Advance\/SILive.com. \u201cShe was in shock, she started remembering a few things after a few hours. She didn\u2019t even know who called or how the ambulance ended up bringing her to the hospital; she was in shock,\u201d<\/p>\n
In the immediate aftermath of the strike, Merita was assisted by passersby who managed to flag down an ambulance. It\u2019s Aida\u2019s hope that those who were at the scene or who live in the area may recall the license plate or have dashcam footage of what transpired Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n
A crosswalk running along Buel Avenue at the intersection with Mason Avenue in Dongan Hills as seen on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.(Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)<\/p>\n
This is the latest health struggle facing Merita, who has endured ovarian cancer, thyroid cancer and is surviving with a singular kidney; she previously donated the other one to her daughter, according to Aida.<\/p>\n
While Aida is grateful her aunt is alive, there is also concern that insurance will not cover Merita\u2019s medical expenses.<\/p>\n
In search of clear footage or information<\/p>\n
In her search for footage, Aida was able to find video of the collision; however, as the video is at a distance, the exact vehicle is unidentifiable.<\/p>\n
Footage shared with the Advance\/SILive.com shows the intersection at the time Merita was hit. In the video, a woman is seen walking along the sidewalk toward the heavily-trafficked intersection. At this point, darkness has already descended upon Staten Island.<\/p>\n
The woman, whom Aida identified as Merita, enters the crosswalk and begins to make her way across the street as a white vehicle comes into frame. It appears, from the video, that the vehicle failed to come to a complete stop at the all-way junction. The woman continues crossing and the vehicle proceeds to strike her before steadily driving onwards.<\/p>\n
A yelp can be heard as the woman is seen collapsing to the ground. A turning vehicle slows down and avoids the injured woman.<\/p>\n
Someone can then be heard asking if the woman is alright and questioning if she needs help.<\/p>\n
Aida asks that anyone with footage of what transpired or identifying information of the vehicle and\/or the driver responsible contact her at (347)749-0887.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — An Emerson Hill resident is asking anyone with identifying information about a vehicle responsible…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-69841","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}