Long Island teen with Down syndrome killed in hit and run laid to rest

LEVITTOWN (WABC) -- Family and friends gathered Thursday to say a final goodbye to a 13-year-old girl killed by a hit-and-run driver on Long Island.

Loved ones gathered in Bethpage Wednesday night at a wake for Bryanna Soplin.

The teen, who suffered from Down syndrome, died early Sunday morning after she was struck while crossing Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown. She had sneaked out of her house and was attempting to walk to her grandparents' house a few miles away.

Retired NYPD officer Michael Elardo, 48, is charged in the case. Elardo, who says he thought he hit a traffic cone, is being held on $1 million bail. He is charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death, but additional or upgraded charges are expected.

Bryanna's uncle, Charlie Curuchaga, told Eyewitness News that his niece wanted to go to his parents' on Saturday, but her parents told her to wait until Sunday when the entire family would be together for Father's Day.

"She was the perfect girl," grandmother Patty Curuchaga said. "She was beautiful and always smiled."

By the time her mother realized she was gone, it was too late.

"She went upstairs to look for her, to see her kids were OK, I don't know why," Charlie Curuchaga said. "I guess as a parent, it's instinct I think, and realized she was missing...Even if you yelled at her, even if you said no to her, she would still say I love you. That's what I miss. That's what I'm always going to miss."

Soplin was laid to rest in Hicksville.