Two women were killed in a hit and run in Newark, New Jersey, after they stepped into a crosswalk and were struck by a speeding car that did not stop. The tragedy has left two families grieving and has prompted an urgent search for the driver who fled the scene, leaving the victims fatally injured in the roadway.
The crash unfolded around 11 o'clock on Saturday night at the intersection of Park Avenue and North 7th Street. The two friends had been enjoying the excitement of a World Cup soccer viewing party and were crossing the street when a car came barreling through the intersection at high speed and slammed into them.
The victims were identified as 58-year-old Mariana Elizabeth Valverde Beltran and 61-year-old Maria Isabel de Los Angeles Salgado. According to witnesses, the force of the impact threw both women airborne. First responders from a firehouse just yards away rushed over to try to help, and the two were taken to University Hospital, where they were pronounced deceased.
The vehicle, described as what looked like a red sedan, did not stop after the collision. According to an account from the scene, the driver kept going, turning a night out into a deadly crime and leaving investigators to piece together what happened from the aftermath and from any available footage.
Investigators may have an important lead. There are cameras at the intersection, and the families are hoping they captured the license plate of the car involved. The Essex County Prosecutor's Office is leading the investigation as detectives work to identify the driver and the vehicle that fled.
For at least one of the families, the loss is especially painful. A cousin of Mariana Beltran said she had come to the United States three years ago from Ecuador to work at a bank, describing her as the absolute joy of the family, someone with a contagious laugh who was always laughing and a constant presence at their gatherings.
Neighbors said the danger was not new, describing speeding as an ongoing problem at intersections along Park Avenue, with drivers blowing through lights even after they turn red. Now two families face the gut wrenching task of breaking the news to relatives, including loved ones back in Ecuador, while making funeral arrangements for the two women.