The Lingering Shadow of a Hit-and-Run: Gloria Dejesus's Unanswered Call for Justice

Imagine a life, vibrant and full, suddenly halted by an unseen force. That’s the haunting reality for the family of Gloria Dejesus, a 65-year-old Bronx woman who, in truth, lingered for five agonizing months after a hit-and-run incident before finally succumbing to her injuries. And now, as if adding insult to unimaginable grief, the driver who caused all this remains at large, a phantom behind the wheel of a dark Dodge Ram pickup.

It all began on a seemingly ordinary June afternoon, specifically June 3rd, 2024, just before 2 p.m. Dejesus, a fixture in her Claremont neighborhood, was simply trying to cross E. 165th Street. Picture it: the hustle and bustle of city life, the endless motion. She was at the intersection with College Avenue, a spot she likely knew well, when a Dodge Ram, turning left from College onto E. 165th, struck her. A moment of impact, a life irrevocably altered. She suffered severe head trauma and body pain, injuries that would, sadly, become her undoing.

You could say her struggle was a testament to her spirit. For five long months, she fought. Think of the hospital visits, the treatments, the hope flickering then fading. But on November 1st, just as the leaves were turning and autumn was settling in, Gloria Dejesus died at BronxCare Health System. The medical examiner, after careful review, definitively linked her death to the complications arising from that brutal collision. It wasn't just a natural passing; it was the tragic culmination of an act of negligence.

Her daughter, Elizabeth Ortiz, paints a poignant picture of her mother, a woman who, before that fateful day, was active, independent—she walked, she cooked, she played the lottery. She lived. "She was a happy person," Ortiz shared, her voice undoubtedly heavy with sorrow. "She was the glue to the family." And then, in a gut-wrenching turn, her mother died "alone" in the hospital. Can you imagine the heartbreak of that? The feeling of injustice that must gnaw at them?

The police, for their part, have released images—pictures and video footage—of the dark Dodge Ram, hoping against hope that someone, anyone, will recognize it or the driver. They're pleading for the public's help, pushing for that crucial tip that could bring a measure of peace, perhaps even closure, to a family reeling from loss. But as of now, there have been no arrests. The driver, whoever they are, is still out there, possibly oblivious, certainly unpunished for the devastation left in their wake.

This isn't merely a police report or a statistic; it’s a human tragedy, a story of a life extinguished too soon, and a family left with a gaping hole. It’s a stark reminder, frankly, of the fragility of life and the profound consequences of a driver's choice to flee the scene. Gloria Dejesus deserves justice, and her family, for once, deserves answers. It's time that truck, and its driver, are found.