A 54-year-old woman was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver Sunday, Aug. 13, just a quarter mile from where her brother was killed by a hit-and-run driver two years ago.
If the eerily similar deaths weren’t enough, the pair’s sister-in-law was struck by a car in the same town this May,the New York Post reported.
Pauline Aluska of Long Island was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Montauk Highway on Sunday night. Police received a report of her body being on the road at 12:20 a.m. Monday.
Eerily, her brother John Aluska was killed in a hit-and-run on the same highway at 1 a.m. on Sept 28, 2015.
Ken Aluska is the brother of John and Pauline. He was just recovering from the death of his wife, Diane Aluska, when he found out about Pauline’s death.
“I [was] just trying to take care of my kids and get back to normal life before this even happened,” he said. “There are no words to describe it.”
According to Ken Alaska, his sister liked sports and was fit. She was looking forward to moving to Florida in the fall. On Sunday, she told him that she wanted to visit the stretch of highway in Lindenhurst where their brother John had died.
She never came back.
Ken said that Pauline was in a good place before her death.
“She was pretty cool,” Ken said.
Ken Aluska’s wife, Diane, was killed while pushing her 16-year-old daughter out of the way of an elderly driver in a bakery parking lot in Lindenhurst this May. Devastated and teary eyed he wondered where to find the strength to go on.
“What’s in my heart? Love for my kids. The determination to go on, and love for my kids,” he said.
Suffolk County Police said that Pauline Aluska was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip and pronounced dead there.
Investigators with the Major Cases Unit said that Pauline died the same way John did—a hit-and-run incident. Neither of the drivers has been found.
Ken pleaded with the person responsible to turn himself or herself in.
“If you have a heart, if you have a soul, turn yourself in,” he said. “Because out there somewhere, you have a family.”
Karen Quinn, a longtime Lindenhurst resident, was the one to report John Aluska’s death two years ago.
“It’s heart-wrenching. For her to cross the street at the same spot where her brother died, it makes no sense to me,” Quinn said.
In 2002, an 18-year-old Brittany Walsh was killed by a drunk driver in the same area.
Concerned with the safety of the highway, locals requested the Department of Transportation (DOT) look into the problem.
Resients said that the highway’s 40 mph speed limit is rarely obeyed. Meanwhile, the road has many blind spots.
The DOT studied the road and determined that streetlights were necessary, but none were installed. Workers were in the area recently to install underground cables.
“We’ve been asking for these lights for years and years and years. They finally decided to do it, but they didn’t do it fast enough,” said Quinn.
“If they'd done it, it could have saved her life,” she added.
According to a DOT representative, a study by the department determined that a streetlight is necessary on the intersection near where Pauline was killed. One is due to be installed this fall.
“We extend our deepest sympathy to the family and all affected by this tragedy,” the representative said in a statement.
Ken is now trying to stay strong for his two remaining siblings Barbara and Paul. The five of them grew up together in a loving family.
“We used to go out on the water all the time. Years past, we had boats, we went out on the water, had a good time fishing, clamming, hanging out at the beach,” Ken said.
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Mysterious ‘Metal Starfish’ Discovered on US Beach, Experts Baffled
A mysterious “metal starfish” discovered in Rhode Island is leaving experts and residents alike baffled. Several people even said it could be some sort of alien equipment.
The heavy metal object found 1o feet from the shoreline at low tide in East Beach was lodged underwater and consisted of a circular metal ring and 8 stainless steel legs capped with concrete. One thing is certain, the object appears to stay in position like glue, despite the force of ocean waves, The Westerly Sun reported.
Peter Brockmann president of the East Beach Association, responsible for the care of the beach told WPRI he thought the item was alive.
“It looks like a metal starfish because it has these eight legs that go down from the center.”
The object was first located near the Niantic Avenue entrance and about 60 to 70 yards to the west of the Watch Hill lighthouse.
Brockmann said this is the first time locals have encountered such an incident.
“Many locals don’t remember seeing it before last summer,” Brockmann told WPRI. “The harbor master has never seen it or heard of it before so it’s a real mystery.”
He said he has heard some people speculate that it could be equipment used by aliens.
Other guesses Brockmann heard was it could be a device used by the Army Corps of Engineers.
“Some scientists at URI think that it is a sea floor mount for an acoustic Doppler imaging apparatus,” said Brockmann.
But the biggest question is still not answered. Where exactly did the mysterious object come from?
“How it got here. It’s the strangest thing because this not something that floats. It’s very heavy,” he said.
According to the Westerly Sun, Brockmann has been studying the item for about six weeks already and is still looking for answers on its origin. He took photos of the object and took them to various agencies and oceanic experts to determine what it is. Officials only told him they are confident it is not an explosive or an in-use navigational device.
Brockmann said the metal object could threaten the safety of surfers and swimmers so he has painted a fence to mark the area around it.
His association is planning to remove the object sometime this week, in mid-August.
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