NEWARK, N.J. — Two women were killed in a horrific hit-and-run crash after a driver plowed into them in a marked crosswalk as they walked home from a World Cup watch party, authorities announced.
The devastating incident occurred late Saturday night, June 20, 2026, at the intersection of Park Avenue and North 7th Street. Shocking surveillance footage captured the moment a silver sedan sped through the intersection and struck the victims, sending them flying before the driver fled without stopping.
A witness at the scene, Manuel Candelaria, described the driver’s actions in stark terms. “I don’t know if he was drunk, but anyway, he put the gas, and that’s what happens,” he told reporters.
The victims — Mariana Elizabeth Valverde Beltran, 58, of Elizabeth, and Maria Isabel DeLosAngeles Salgado Ayala, 61, of Newark — were rushed to University Hospital Newark, where they were pronounced dead.
On Tuesday, June 23, 26-year-old David J. Zapata-Vera of Newark turned himself in to police.
Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II and Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda announced the charges Wednesday.Zapata-Vera faces:
Two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide
Two counts of second-degree leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death
Two counts of third-degree endangering an injured victim
Prosecutors say he struck the women while they were legally crossing in the crosswalk before speeding away.
The surveillance video released as part of the investigation shows the silver vehicle approaching at high speed, striking the two women in the crosswalk, and continuing without slowing down, a callous act that left two families shattered and a community mourning.
This heartbreaking case highlights the dangers pedestrians face and the devastating consequences when drivers choose to flee instead of stopping to help. Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash.
