Although NYPD officials would not confirm the nanny's name, but Bedford police said the woman struck was Neuza Diniz, 68, of Newark said Bedford Police Lt. Tom Diebold.
Diniz was first reported missing by her friend Carla Cerquiera, who turned in a missing person's report to the Newark Police when she failed to return home from her job as a nanny in Bedford on Monday.
One of her employers, Roseann Rutherford of Bedford, said that Diniz was like a family member and was distraught by the news of her death.
"She was just a lovely person and really like part of the family," Rutherford said.
According to police, while several police departments were looking for the missing nanny, she was already dead, hit around 8:10 p.m. Monday as she crossed mid-block near Fifth Avenue after eating at a McDonald's, said an NYPD spokesman.
Diniz's son, who arrived from Brazil early Friday morning to help search for his mother, instead learned of her death.
"Her friends are with him," said Rutherford. "It's just so sad."
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