Long Island resident Pauline Aluska, 54, was hit and killed by a hit-and-run-driver in the Village of Lindenhurst, New York, as she went to visit the area of the highway where John Aluska, her older brother, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run motorist two years earlier. According to the New York Post, the Aluska family experienced even more tragedy, as the late siblings’ sister-in-law Diane Aluska was killed in May in the same town when she pushed her 16-year-old daughter out of the path of a senior driver.
Ken Aluska, brother to both of the deceased siblings and widower of Diane, was stunned by the news, saying he was just starting to shake off the shock of losing his wife. According to Ken, his sister Pauline was retired and planning to move to Florida in the fall. On the Sunday night before her death, Pauline told her brother she wanted to visit the area of highway where John, a retired Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker, died in 2015 at the age of 61. Pauline, a retired supermarket worker, was athletic and looking forward to enjoying sports and the outdoors in the warm climate of Florida.
The Suffolk County Police report that the body of Pauline was discovered just under a quarter-mile from where her brother was hit just after midnight. They never identified the driver who took the life of John Aluska two years earlier and are still looking for him or her, and they are also seeking the driver in this recent tragic accident.
Karen Quinn, a longtime resident of Lindenhurst who alerted the police after John was hit two years ago, said the senseless loss of life was devastating. According to Quinn, the 54-year-old victim crossed the street at the same spot where her brother died.
After the death of John and the passing of 18-year-old Brittany Walsh, who was struck and killed by a drunk driver in the same area years earlier, area residents began to lobby the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) about the highway, where the posted 40mph signs are often ignored by drivers. On top of that, residents also say the area has many blind spots. NYSDOT determined that more lights were needed after a review, but the equipment installation has only begun recently.
Quinn added the lights were not installed fast enough. Residents have been asking for them for years, and earlier installation may have saved Pauline Aluska’s life.
Residents and the Aluska family are asking the drivers who hit John and Pauline to turn themselves in to local law enforcement. Anyone with any information on either of these accidents is also encouraged to contact the Suffolk County Police Department as soon as possible.
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