Colleagues of a bicyclist killed this week in a hit-and-run accident in northern New Jersey say the victim was a Japanese national who was planning to fly home next week to reunite with her husband.
Hudson County authorities say 30-year-old Ayako Okabe was found Thursday night on Routes 1&9 in Jersey City.
Okabe had lived in Jersey City for the past year while working as a secretary at A&A International Shipping, which is not far from where she was struck. Co-workers told The Jersey Journal that Okabe had come to the United States about a month after being wed because she "wanted to try something new."
Her last day on the job was Thursday, and she had planned to stop by the business on Friday to say goodbye.
"The police, they used some special words to describe and at first we did not understand she was killed," Renaca Nackus, an accountant at the company, told The Jersey Journal. "I asked 'Where is she?' and they said 'She is dead.' We cannot believe this happened to her. It is very sad for us. We cannot work all day. Everything stopped."
Okabe’s family was notified of her death through the Japanese Consulate, according to The Jersey Journal.
