Man Who Hit, Killed Mom With Stroller Indicted: DA

AMAGANSETT, NY — A West Babylon man charged with leaving the scene after he struck and killed a mom pushing her two young children in a stroller in Amagansett was indicted Thursday, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini.

Mark Corrado, 28, was charged with leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, resulting in death, a felony, and tampering with physical evidence, a felony, Sini said.

At 11:42 a.m. on Jan. 13, Corrado was driving a 1997 Dodge pickup and heading east on Montauk Highway in Amagansett when he struck Yuris Murillo Cruz, 36, of Amagansett, who was pushing her two children, 1 and 4, in a stroller on the eastbound shoulder, Sini said. Cruz Murillo was transported to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, Sini said.

The children were transported to Stony Brook University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Sini said.

Corrado continued driving east and abandoned the vehicle in a wooded area on Gilberts Path in Amagansett, Sini said. He also removed the license plates from the vehicle, scratched the registration off the windshield, and took the insurance and registration documents out of the glove compartment before calling an Uber to drive him back to his home in West Babylon, Sini said.

Corrado surrendered himself to East Hampton Town Police detectives at the Suffolk County Police Department’s first precinct that afternoon, Sini said.

Corrado was arraigned on the indictment before Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice John Collins and was released on supervised release with alcohol and narcotics conditions, Sini said.

He is also subject to a 9 p.m. curfew and is prohibited from leaving New York State; his license has been suspended since his arraignment on the felony complaint on Jan. 14, Sini said.

Corrado is represented by the Legal Aid Society and is due back in court on May 6, Sini said.

If convicted of the top count, Corrado faces a maximum sentence of two and one-third to seven years in prison, Sini said.

“This was a horrible tragedy that has left two young children without their mother,” Sini said. “In addition to allegedly fleeing the scene, the driver took even further steps to avoid being identified and taking responsibility for his actions. We will seek to hold him accountable and obtain justice for the victim and her family.”

Meanwhile, the children who were in the stroller pushed by their mother when she was hit by a pickup truck and killed are now at home with their father Wilson, Murillo Cruz's friend Angelica Marta said.

For Michelle, Cruz's little girl, there are questions even adults cannot answer, Marta said. "She asked her father, 'Where is Mommy?' He told her that her mother was in heaven and was an angel now, who would watch over her."

Murillo Cruz, Marta said, had put her baby into the stroller and walked to the Amagansett School to pick up her daughter. The three were heading eastbound to her house when the truck, also heading eastbound, "hit her from behind," Marta said. "She didn't see it coming."

Of Murillo Cruz, Marta said, "She was so sweet and kind, and humble. I never heard her speak badly about anybody. She was like an angel, honestly."

And, she said, her friend was a devoted mother and partner to her husband, who was blindsided by her loss.

Wilson, a landscaper, had just finished his last house of the season and was headed home for lunch with his family when tragedy struck. Now, he's caring for his children in their home — a rented, single room where the family has been living on Montauk Highway in Amagansett.

The couple, Marta said, was perfectly suited. "She was the kind of person who could calm his worries and fears. She was a woman of great faith. She believed if you prayed, it would make things better," she said.

Murillo Cruz had a dream, Marta said — to one day live in a home where her children could have a yard, where they could play outside in the sunshine and she and her family could set down roots and make memories.

Now, Marta said, she and others are planning to try and locate an affordable apartment or home for the family in the area. "Our primary goal is to get them in to somewhere more comfortable," she said.

During the darkest of hours, it is the memory of Murillo Cruz's deep and abiding faith that buoys those who loved her. Murillo Cruz and her husband spent many hours at church, never missing an event.

"She was a godly woman," Marta said. "She would just light up a room."

A GoFundMe page, "Yuris Murillo Cruz Funeral and Medical Expenses," was created by Marta.
"If you can find it in your heart to help the family and their two beautiful children it would be greatly appreciated. If you can't donate, please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers, and please pass along the link," she wrote.

Another GoFundMe page, "Support for the Murillo Cruz Family," was also created by Kim Slicklein of the Amagansett PTA.