Driver Charged After Deadly Newark Crash Kills 81-Year-Old Inside Laundromat
What happened
Where it happened
- Newark, Essex County.
What remains unclear
- Investigators say a Dodge Ram pickup truck slammed into a parked car, sending both vehicles crashing through the front of the business.
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A Newark man is now facing charges after police say he fled the scene of a crash that killed an 81-year-old woman inside a laundromat.
The crash happened around 2:30 p.m. Monday at the Ivy Hill Laundromat on Irvington Avenue in Newark.
Investigators say a Dodge Ram pickup truck slammed into a parked car, sending both vehicles crashing through the front of the business.
Inside, 81-year-old Ruth Benjamin of Newark was sitting near the front when she was struck.
She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and Newark Department of Public Safety.
Authorities announced Wednesday that 45-year-old Aides Benites Rivera of Newark has been charged with second-degree leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
No further details have been released.
Bottom line: A routine afternoon turned deadly in seconds — and now prosecutors say the driver tried to walk away.
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