Two people were arrested Monday night in the hit-and-run that killed a 7-year-old girl walking to school and seriously injured her mother in New Jersey, authorities said.
Johana Rosas-Alvarez, of Newark, and Fabian Calles, an undocumented immigrant, were arrested Monday night, authorities said, after police tracked the vehicle in the crash that killed Sheyla Pichardo to their home in Newark.
Pichardo was hit while walking at Van Buren Place and 61st Street in West New York at about 8:30 a.m., police said.
The SUV that hit the girl, a black Chevrolet Tahoe, took off afterward.
Surveillance footage from the scene shows the SUV hit the mother and daughter while they crossed a street. The driver gets out of the vehicle, looks at the girl and mother, then gets back in the vehicle and speeds off.
The girl was taken to Palisades Medical Center after the impact, authorities said. She was pronounced dead sometime afterward. The girl's mother was also taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
"My heart is destroyed with what happened to my daughter," said Javier Pichardo, the girl's father. "I didn't think this could happen to me or my wife."
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Calles, who matched the description of the man seen getting out of the car after the crash, faces charges of endangering an injured victim, hindering apprehension, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury. Charges against Rosas-Alvarez weren't available.
Calles has a child, according to the woman's landlord.
Their arrests came as a memorial for Pichardo grows at the crash site. Several mourners, including family members and children have stopped by to pay their respects.
Attorney information for the suspects wasn't immediately available.
