By: Richard L. Smith
A Newark man has been arrested and charged in connection with a hit-and-run crash that claimed the lives of two women who were struck while crossing a city street earlier this month.
Authorities announced that 26-year-old David J. Zapata-Vera surrendered to police on Tuesday following an investigation into the June 20 collision at the intersection of Park Avenue and North 7th Street.
According to investigators, Zapata-Vera is accused of striking two women who were in a marked crosswalk before fleeing the scene without stopping to assist the victims or notify authorities.
The victims, identified as Mariana Elizabeth Valverde Beltran, 58, of Elizabeth, and Maria Isabel DeLosAngeles Salgado Ayala, 61, of Newark, were transported to University Hospital, where they later died from their injuries.
Zapata-Vera has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, two counts of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death, and two counts of endangering an injured victim.
The charges were announced by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Newark Department of Public Safety.
The investigation remains active. Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact authorities.