Elmhurst man’s immigrant success story cut short by hit-and-run driver from Astoria: NYPD

Jose Dilone-Duran, 53, of the Astoria Houses, was arraigned Tuesday, April 7, from his hospital bed, on a complaint charging him with leaving the scene without reporting a death and failure to exercise due care.

According to the criminal complaint, Dilone-Duran was driving a Nissan Versa sedan southwest bound on Whitney Avenue toward the intersection of Macnish Street in Elmhurst when he struck and ran over 44-year-old Edward Luyo, who was crossing the street outside the crosswalk eight blocks south of his Denman Street home. Dilone-Duran pulled over to the curb where he stayed for approximately five minutes but he got spooked when a witness asked him about striking the victim and as a crowd gathered around his car, Dilone-Duran put his Nissan in reverse and then made a right turn down Macnish Street speeding away from the scene of the crash then made a right turn on Elmhurst Avenue toward the intersection with Judge Street. At that intersection, uniformed NYPD officers saw Dilone-Duran in the Nissan with damage to the windshield, with a portion of it shattered. The cops pulled their vehicle in front of Dilone-Duran’s car to prevent him from driving away. Dilone-Duran collided head-on at a slow speed into the marked NYPD vehicle, which had the turret lights activated. Duran was taken into custody and brought to the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst for questioning.

Back at the scene of the initial collision, EMS responded and rushed Luyo to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

At the precinct, Dilone-Duran told a detective from the NYPD’s Highway District Collision Investigation Squad that he had left his Astoria home at around 3 p.m. to pick up his wife from work in Brooklyn.

“I suffer from strokes. I see a neurologist. I last saw him about a month ago,” he said before contradicting himself. “Dec. 4 was the last time I saw the neurologist. I also suffer from asthma and regular seizures.”

Dilone-Duran contradicted himself again saying, “The last time I had a seizure was two months ago. Before that it was about two years ago.” 

He said he felt normal when he got into the Nissan Versa but felt a seizure coming on about 30 minutes prior to the collision, did some exercises and took two pills.

“My left arm fell asleep. I felt it on the left side of my body. The left side of my brain, my left arm, and my left hand started to go numb,” Dilone-Duran told the detective. “I took two Keppras. It is my seizure medication. I felt my numbness getting worse and felt like I hit something.”

He claimed he waited at the curb for 25 minutes and drove off when nobody confronted him and later struck his head when the police tried to stop him.

“I kept driving because I felt better after I took the medication and it was an emergency that I get where I needed to go,” Dilone-Duran stated. “I don’t know why I kept driving. In that moment I said, ‘what did I just do,’ but I kept going. When I stayed for 25 minutes, the symptoms were worsening so I couldn’t call 911. With my right hand, I put the car in reverse and turned down Whitney. Are you sure the person I hit passed away? There is no way that person died.”

He was arrested and booked at the 110th Precinct at 7:30 p.m. on March 31, three hours after he struck Luyo who was born in Lima, Peru, in 1981 and immigrated to the U.S. at age 15 to join his mother. As a young man he did various restaurant jobs and other construction work. In 2001, he helped clean up Ground Zero following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. Luyo later opened his own company with his brother called Quality Polishing Surfaces Inc. He was remembered as a free spirit and loved adventures and traveling, especially going on road trips with his girlfriend, Violet Cannistraci, to visit national parks around the country.

His heartbroken girlfriend launched a GoFundMe account to help his family with funeral expenses.

“His family is devastated by his loss and experiencing a burden with handling the necessary steps of navigating this tragic situation,” Cannistraci wrote. “As we come to terms with this loss, we are trying to raise funds for funeral and memorial expenses and any help to ease the financial burden on the family during this transition.”

Dilone-Duran pleaded not guilty before Queens Criminal Court Judge Thomas Wright-Fernandez and released on his own recognizance with his license suspended and his passport surrendered. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 29.