'She pushed me so I wouldn't get hurt': Heroic mother dies sacrificing her life to save her daughter, 7, by shoving her to safety seconds before they were hit by a car

  • Dania Cegeno-Delrosario died on Friday night in Meriden, Connecticut
  • The 40-year-old pushed daughter, Denisse, to safety as they crossed road 
  • She shoved the youngster from the car's path seconds before it hit them 
  • The mother was taken to hospital, but died a short time after arriving  
  • Police say the driver fled the scene but left behind a mirror

By Associated Press and Sarah Dean For Mailonline

Published: 00:30 EST, 10 October 2016 | Updated: 07:58 EST, 10 October 2016

A brave mother was hit by a car and killed just seconds after she saved her seven-year-old daughter's life by pushing her out of the way.

Dania Cegeno-Delrosario, 40, and her daughter, Denisse, were crossing a street in Meriden, Connecticut, on Friday night when a vehicle slammed into the pair and then fled the scene, police say.

The impact sent Cegeno-Delrosario flying, and she was later found lying underneath a white SUV at the side of the road.

'That my mom is under a jeep, a white jeep and someone crashed her,' her daughter Denisse told WFSB.

The youngster described how her mother heroically pushed her out the way at the last second 'so I wouldn't get hurt'.

Connecticut woman Dania Cegeno-Delrosario, 40, and her daughter, Denisse, were crossing a street in Meriden on Friday night when they were struck

Connecticut woman Dania Cegeno-Delrosario, 40, and her daughter, Denisse, were crossing a street in Meriden on Friday night when they were struck

The Record-Journal reports the girl also told police that her mother saw the approaching vehicle and pushed her to safety.

Cegeno-Delrosario was taken to a hospital, where she later died from serious head and chest injuries. 

Little Denisse was hospitalized with minor injuries. She has since been released.

Local resident Giuseppe Capparella said: 'I heard a kid scream and it sounded like my own daughter... She just kept saying, "mommy’s dead, mommy’s dead".'

Cegeno-Delrosario arrived in America after moving from the Dominican-Republic two years ago.

She was working two jobs to provide a better life for her daughter.

Her husband joined her in Connecticut about four months ago, neighbor Brandon Clark told the Record-Journal.

Police say the driver fled the scene but left behind a mirror and casing that indicates the car was a dark-coloured Nissan.

The investigation is ongoing.

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