Evelyn Rodriguez, mother of girl allegedly killed by MS-13, fatally struck by car

Evelyn Rodriguez, whose 16-year-old daughter was killed in 2016 — allegedly by MS-13 gang members — was fatally struck by a vehicle Friday before a memorial vigil for her child, Suffolk County Police Chief of Department Stuart Cameron said.

Rodriguez was struck on Stahley Street in Brentwood exactly two years to the day from when the body of her daughter, Kayla Cuevas, was discovered in a wooded area just off that street. Authorities have said that Cuevas and her friend Nisa Mickens, 15, both of whom were students at Brentwood High School, were bludgeoned to death with bats and machetes by MS-13 gang members.

"Evelyn Rodriguez was struck by a vehicle on Stahley Street in Brentwood at approximately 4:10 p.m. today, " police said in a statement. "She was transported to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore where she was pronounced dead."

Rodriguez became a vocal youth advocate after the killings. She met with President Trump and attended his State of the Union address earlier this year as a White House guest.

A law enforcement source said Rodriguez and a man got into an argument with a driver on Friday afternoon on Stahley Street. Rodriguez was struck by the vehicle after the dispute and died as a result of her injuries, the source said. The driver, a woman, stayed at the scene and has not been arrested, but the incident is under investigation by the police department's homicide squad to determine the motorist's intent, the source said.

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/rodriguez-kayla-ms13-struck-1.21012242