The 83-year-old Jersey City pedestrian who succumbed to her injuries suffered in a hit-and-run was on her way to Temple Beth-El to read scripture before the fatal incident occurred, Rabbi Leanna Morritt said.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Our congregation is devastated by the sudden and tragic loss of our beloved member, Judith Baller-Fabian, who died earlier this evening at the age of 83,” Morritt wrote in an email to her congregation last night that was forwarded to HCV.
“Judi was crossing the street in front of our temple, just arriving to study Torah, when she was struck by a hit-and-run-driver. She never regained consciousness.”
She continued that Baller-Fabian was surrounded by Morritt, her nieces, Rosalind Carey, and Tamara Daley when she passed. The temple will hold a service honoring Baller-Fabian’s memory this evening at 8 p.m.
Late this morning, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that she was the woman struck during Wednesday evening’s hit-and-run. Baller-Fabian was in critical condition for about two days before she died.
On Wednesday, at approximately 7:20 p.m., members of the Jersey City Police Department responded to the area of John F. Kennedy Boulevard near Harrison Avenue on reports of a pedestrian struck with serious injuries.
Upon arrival, responding officers found a female victim with serious bodily injuries. The driver who struck the woman fled the scene in a red/maroon sedan.
The events surrounding the crash remain under investigation by the Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit with assistance from the Jersey City Police Department and no charges have been filed at this time.
Anyone with ay information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201- 915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip on the Hudson County Prosecutor’s official website at http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/.
All information will be kept confidential.
