A 9-year-old girl who had just left church was killed Sunday when a minivan fleeing the scene of a hit-and-run in Brooklyn plowed into the car she was riding in, authorities said.
Rebecca Ramnarine, 9, was heading for dinner with her pal and the friend’s mother when a Honda Odyssey slammed into the rear end of the vehicle at Remsen Avenue and Avenue N in Canarsie around 5 p.m., law-enforcement sources said.
Rebecca’s mother, Abiola Ramnarine, said she was nearby when the tragedy took place.
“We weren’t that far apart, because I got to the scene in 2 minutes,’’ the heartbroken mom said. “I arrived at the scene and saw the EMS take my daughter out of a mangled car. She was lifeless.”
The child was declared dead at Brookdale Hospital.
“They took apart the whole car with the Jaws of Life and they had to resuscitate the little girl,” said witness Sophia Laino, 15.
Another witness, Michael Nemeroff, said the youngster “was completely lifeless and motionless. I just literally had the chills. I started tearing up.”
Rebecca’s mother described her daughter as a lively girl.
“She was a rambunctious 9-year-old,” the mom said. “She loved to dance, she wanted to be a pediatrician.”
The girl’s dad, Richard Ramnarine, said of the reckless driver: “I’m not angry at him. He took my daughter’s life and I’m hurting. But we’re going to allow the course of justice to take its course.”
Rebecca’s 11-year-old friend, Faith Cummings, suffered a broken pelvis in the accident, Rebecca Ramnarine said. She and her mom, Esther, were both in stable condition.
The Odyssey’s driver — 62-year-old Kenneth Palache of Huntington, LI — had fled the scene of a hit-and-run at East 87th Street and Foster Avenue just minutes earlier, cops said.
Palache was pulled over by police on Remsen Avenue near Avenue L. But he sped away when officers approached the car and asked him to step out, cops said.
That’s when he caused the fatal accident just two blocks away.
Police said they were not chasing Palache’s Odyssey at the time of the crash.
Palache was arrested and booked on suspicion of criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, failure to show a license and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
The driver of the Jeep Liberty hit in the initial hit-and-run incident suffered minor injuries.
In addition to the Hyundai carrying Rebecca and her friend, the driver of the Odyssey also crashed into a Toyota Siena with three people inside. They were in Brookdale with minor injuries.