“During our initial investigation, the NYPD misidentified the victim of a fatal vehicle collision,” police said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

A family is still reeling after being told their loved one died in an accident and then finding out it wasn’t true.

Conformable WABC-TVpolice told Sheila Nagengast that her 44-year-old sister, Denise Owen, died after being hit by a car on Staten Island on Tuesday, October 31.

“They said, ‘I’m sorry to inform you, but your sister was killed in a car accident,'” added Nagengast, who said her sister experienced homelessness at times and was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department said that “during our initial investigation, the NYPD misidentified the victim of a fatal vehicle collision.”

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Nagengast told WABC-TV that family members and friends also heard about the news as it spread.

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Then, when Nagengast was meeting with a lawyer, she said her other sister called to say Owen was alive. “She FaceTimed me, and my sister Denise … is standing right in front of my (other) sister. Alive and well,” Nagengast said.

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Personal injury attorney Jonathan D’Agostino tells PEOPLE that if “the police had been more diligent in following standard protocol in this matter,” the family “would have been spared the emotional distress.”

D’Agostino adds that he is now working with “the actual victim of this accident,” but is not at liberty to discuss further details.

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In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, police said that “upon further investigation, a proper identification was made and the family was subsequently notified.”

They added: “We apologize for the unfortunate pain we may have caused.”