WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — A hit-and-run in Gravesend Tuesday morning killed a beloved employee of Williamsburg's The Bagel Store, which went viral for its rainbow bagels two years ago.

Francine Labarbara, 57, was on her way home from the grocery store when she was hit by a car crossing Avenue Y near West 2 Street just after 8 a.m. When officers arrived, they found Labarbara unresponsive and unconscious in the street with trauma to her head and body. She was brought to Coney Island Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The car, a white Ford Econoline van, fled the scene. Police announced Wednesday morning that a Brighton Beach woman, Susan Liebowitz, 55, was arrested for the accident. She was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care.

Labarbara, a single mother of twin teenage sons, was the marketing director for The Bagel Store. Employees who worked with her have been posting updates and condolences for the mother of two online. "I am very very sorry to have to say goodbye to a very old friend and sister from another mother," one tribute said on the store's Instagram page. The post goes on to say that Labarbara "loved talking about the rainbow bagel" and working with media and "social grammars" from around the globe.

The Williamsburg store became famous after a viral video showed how they make their signature rainbow bagels in 2016.



After the accident, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Council Member Mark Treyger said they would visit Avenue Y on Wednesday to hand out flyers and help find the car that hit Labarbara. The officials also hoped to draw attention to the need for improved safety on the intersection, which neighbors have called dangerous because of speeding drivers, a release said.

