Community members gathered for a candlelight vigil in Jackson Heights, where attendees read the names of more than 100 victims identified so far after the earthquake in Colombia.
Investigators say 27-year-old John Arango-Taborda was speeding and crashed into a car driven by 56-year-old Albert Coutinho.
Albert Coutinho, 56, was a pillar of Newark's Portuguese community and a key organizer of the city's Portugal Day Festival.
On Thursday, her friends and loved ones hope that sharing Sharon Thomas' story will help raise awareness and lead police on the right path to find the person responsible.
"The families carrying those losses bear a weight that is unbearable. What we know is that, however that grief is held tonight, it will not be held alone."
The grieving parents of a 16-year-old who was shot and killed in the Bronx want the system to get tougher on youth violence.