The New York family mourned a woman who police said had died when they learned she was alive

A Staten Island, New York, family has experienced a whirlwind of emotions after police wrongly told them their loved one had died in a car accident.

The day after a fatal Oct. 30 crash involving a pedestrian, police told Sheila Nagengast of Staten Island that her sister Denise Owens, 44, had been killed, according to Glen Devora, Nagengast’s attorney.

Devora said the family was “devastated” by the news and only learned 36 hours later that it was another woman, and not Owens, who had died in the crash.

“They had to inform the rest of their family members, including their children, about what had happened. They even went so far as to begin planning funeral arrangements, and discussions about whether or not an autopsy would take place, decisions you would make when discussing the death of a loved one,” Devora said.

Justine Perez, 37, of Staten Island, died in the crash, police said.

Police acknowledged the mistake on Wednesday.

“During our initial investigation, the NYPD misidentified the victim of a fatal vehicle collision,” police said in a statement. “After further investigation, proper identification was made and the family was notified. We apologize for any unfortunate distress we may have caused.”

The crash occurred around 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 30 at the Staten Island intersection of Hyland Boulevard and New Dorp Lane, police said in a separate statement that incorrectly identified the victim as a 44-year-old woman.

An 18-year-old man driving a Nissan Maxima struck the pedestrian, police said. The driver remained at the scene and no arrests were made, but an investigation was underway, the statement said.

The pedestrian was pronounced dead on the north campus of Staten Island University Hospital, police said.

The police did not indicate in their statements how the mistake happened.

The NYPD “has not fully explained how the mix-up occurred,” Devora said. “They have not fully explained why they informed the first family of the mistake,” he said, adding that the fatal crash and the way police responded left two families in “disarray.”

Devora said he also represents the Perez family who were in the process of “planning a funeral.”

Devora said he is trying to figure out how the mistake happened because Owens “was not walking in the area at the time (of the collision). She was not aware of the incident.”