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Posted September 3, 2004
· Photos by Fritz Rethage
Hit
& Run at Boulevard & Williams
The scene at The Boulevard and Williams moments after the
HHFD EMS transported the injured child to the hospital.
Bergen County authorities at the scene.
Lodi ladder truck assisted Bergen County Prosecutor's Office with aerial photos.
The Boulevard was closed until after 5:00 p.m.
Television coverage that Friday evening
Roadside Memorial on Saturday morning
First Reports:
On September 3, 2004 about 11:30 a.m., an adult and a young child had just left Dunkin'
Donuts and were crossing with the light on the Boulevard heading east when a SUV traveling
east on Williams, turned left onto The Boulevard and struck the pedestrians.
Witnesses said that the adult was clipped by the vehicle, but the child was hit before the
vehicle sped off. It appeared that the child traveled about 15 feet. HHFD fire department responded and transported the child to
the hospital. The Bergen County Fatal Accident Investigation
Unit was reviewing the scene. The child's status is unknown at this time.
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Other Media Reports
Hit-run SUV kills boy, 4, in Heights
Four year old Eric Vicario of Elmwood Park was killed by a hit and run driver while
crossing The Boulevard at Williams Avenue just before noon on September 3, 2004.
Robert Pfister, 33, of Hasbrouck Heights and the child has just left Dunkin' Donuts when
they were struck by a red Ford Expedition turning left onto The Boulevard from
Williams.
According to a witness, Mr. Pfister was closer to the intersection and Eric was walking on
the inside. They were holding hands. Pfister was bumped and did not need
medical attention. The child was struck in the head by the left side front bumper, and
investigators are looking into whether he was also run over. The boy was taken
to the Hackensack Medical Center by the HHFD where he was pronounced dead.
The police were on the scene almost immediately. A call went over a special emergency
network with the license plate for a red Ford Expedition. Bergen County Sheriff's
deputies stopped and arrested Gloria Amendano, 35, of Hackensack driving the SUV traveling
east on Route 46 in Little Ferry. Amendano acknowledge that she struck Pfister but did not
know she struck the boy.
According to authorities, Amendano was charged with knowing leaving the scene of an
accident resulting in death (an offense that carries a penalty of three to five years in
prison), careless driving, failure to yield to a pedestrian and possession of a fictitious
license. They are awaiting toxicology test on Amendano.
Source: The Record, September 4, 2004
#####
From The Associated Press:
Driver charged in
hit-and-run accident that killed 4-year-old boy
Friday September 03, 2004
HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, N.J. (AP) Police arrested a driver who allegedly fled the scene of
a hit-and-run accident that killed a 4-year-old boy Friday.
The boy, Eric Vicario of Elmwood
Park, and Robert Pfister, 43, were walking hand-in-hand across a street when a sport
utility vehicle driven by Gloria Amendano, 35, of Hackensack struck them around noon. It
was not clear if Pfister and the boy were related.
Pfister was only bumped by the
car and apparently did not sustain any serious injuries, authorities said, but Vicario was
run over by the vehicle. He was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he
died about 40 minutes later.
Amendano drove off after the
accident and the vehicle was later stopped in Little Ferry, authorities said. She was
arrested and charged with knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident
resulting in death, which is a third-degree crime, and leaving the scene of an accident.
She also received summonses for
careless driving, possession of a fictitious drivers license and failure to yield to a
pedestrian. (Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Story appeared:
WCBS News Radio 88: New Jersey Wire web-site
WCBS-TV New York: www.cbsnewyork.com
WNBC-TV New York www.nbc.com
New York Newsday web site
www.nj.com
CBS Channel 3 KYW-TV Philadelphia web site
#####
Related link: Boulevard Pedestrian Safety
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