Fatal hit-and-run victim Octavio De Jesus Espinal Sime's family urges driver to come forward

The devastated family of a 76-year-old West Babylon man who died after being struck by a hit-and-run driver earlier this month is pleading for whoever is responsible to turn themselves in to police.

"Just come out. We don’t want violence or anything, we just want justice," his 39-year-old daughter, Ivelisse Alberto, said on Wednesday. Other relatives said it's difficult to properly grieve while the question of who was at fault looms.

Octavio De Jesus Espinal Sime was struck while he was headed to the Long Island Rail Road station for his commute home from his Freeport job, his family said. 

After he beat cancer in 2018, relatives said, Espinal Sime felt like he had a new lease on life. So, he dutifully reported to his job at Strike Force Maintenance Corp., which gave him purpose and marked his good health, they said.

But that came to an end on Nov. 8 when a light-colored sedan is believed to have hit him at 1:50 p.m., near North Grove Street and Brooklyn Avenue, where he was left in critical condition. He was rushed by ambulance to Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital but a few days later it was evident he would not survive, relatives said. On Nov. 11, hospital officials said he was declared brain-dead.  

His family said they then began the organ donation process that he had wanted. On Tuesday, his organs were procured, hospital officials said. 

"He was always so generous that he donated his organs," Alberto said. Espinal Sime leaves behind 17 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and six adult children. He was predeceased by two children. 

Relatives said he paid special attention to his appearance, making sure he was always clean-shaven, a sign of his youthful and upbeat demeanor. The evening before he was struck, Alberto said her father made the unusual request to take a photo with her despite knowing she didn't like to. 

"He liked pictures but he knew I didn't. I was like, 'No no no,' but he said 'Come on,' and we did," Alberto said. 

His heartbroken granddaughter and a grandniece took turns remembering him as a hardworking person who always put others first.

"He gave me $100 a couple weeks ago. I told him I was going to give it back to him but he told me to keep it and use it toward a necklace for my baby girl that was born a month ago," said his granddaughter, Alexandra Casado, 20.

He also helped support his eldest daughter, 47, who suffers from medical problems and wasn’t able to work, his daughter said.

Espinal Sime's death is part of a persistent problem on Long Island. Newsday recently reported that from 2019 to 2023, there were 244 serious or fatal hit-and-run crashes across Nassau and Suffolk counties. More than half involved pedestrians or cyclists. As of October, prosecutors have investigated 38 serious or fatal hit-and-run cases this year on the Island. 

While police continue to investigate Espinal Sime's case, they ask anyone with information regarding the crash to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 800-244-8477.

Meanwhile, Espinal Sime's grandniece Laura Acosta had a simple message for the hit-and-run driver. 

"Just do the right thing," Acosta, 23, said. "What's done is done already. Just give my family peace of mind, because all this wondering and thinking who did this — I feel like having a face and a name would help [us] move on with the grieving process."

Newsday's Maureen Mullarkey contributed to this story.