Kumar Ragunath was walking to a city hotel on Friday in the Queens neighbourhood where he had recently joined work as fire safety director, when he was hit by an SUV.
Police found him unconscious and unresponsive with severe head trauma and a broken leg.
According to the police, the driver of the SUV did not stop to help Ragunath, leaving him in the middle of the street with severe injuries.
He was briefly placed in a medically induced coma but succumbed to his injuries a day after being hit as he attempted to cross the road.
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"He was very generous, an extremely giving person and very, very kindhearted," Ragunath's sister-in-law Shiroon Khederoo said.
A witness has told investigators that the person who hit Ragunath was driving a black SUV with New York plates but he could not get the license plate number.
No arrests have been made in the case yet which is being investigated by the New York Police Department's Highway Patrol Collision Investigation Squad.