Woman Killed In Fairfield Hit-And-Run 'A Hard Worker, A Dreamer'

FAIRFIELD, CT — On the Fourth of July, Marileidy Morel Araujo and her fiancé, Danny Fernandez, visited family in Fairfield, where they planned to enjoy a barbecue before going to see relatives in New York the next day.

The couple were looking forward to the future. Fernandez had recently survived a severe case of the coronavirus. The two had purchased and were renovating a home in Matamoras, Pennsylvania. They were going to marry later in the year and start a family.

But none of that would come to pass.

About 7:30 p.m. Saturday near 2000 Redding Road, Araujo was killed by a hit-and-run driver while walking her dog. She was 32.

Denise Fernandez, a Fairfield resident and Danny Fernandez’s sister, said she didn’t know that Araujo had left the house until the firetrucks pulled up and Denise saw the couple’s dog.

“She had really just started that next chapter of her life,” Denise said. “… I’m just devastated.”

After receiving hundreds of tips, police announced Wednesday night that Declan P. Kot, a 22-year-old volunteer firefighter from Easton, is charged in connection with the crash.

“We’ve been overwhelmed with the out pour from the community,” Denise said. “… They’ve been on this case since the minute it happened.”

Originally from the Dominican Republic, Araujo moved to New Jersey when she was 9. Growing up, her family was poor and taught her the value of hard work, Denise said. Araujo had a full-time job with Capital One’s real estate marketing department while attending William Paterson University, where she obtained a master’s degree in marketing in May 2019.

“She worked hard, she got her education,” Denise said. “… Now it’s been taken away.”

Araujo loved butterflies, clothes, traveling and taking pictures. She recently launched a travel blog and sent family members photos she had taken earlier on July Fourth just minutes before her death.

Her cousin, Liliana Torres Araujo, described Marileidy as humble, caring and kind.

“She was a hard worker, a dreamer,” Liliana said in an interview via Facebook Messenger. “… She was more than a cousin. She was like a sister.”

A funeral will be held Sunday for Araujo in Passaic, New Jersey. She will be buried Monday in Clifton, New Jersey.