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Arrest In Hit-And-Run Death Of NJ 5-Year-Old
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 24, 2010
Modified Jul 24, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 24, 2010
Modified Jul 24, 2010
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Newark authorities announced the arrest of a 24-year-old man who fatally struck a 5-year-old girl crossing Columbia Avenue near her home on Thursday night. Saleem Wright, 24, of Irvington, NJ, surrendered to a Baptist minister (police had discovered his abandoned and damaged 2005 Mercedes CLK convertible after little Julianne Vega's death). The Star-Ledger reports Wright is being held on $150,000 bail and charges include "death by auto, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and endangering an injured victim." Neighbors remembered little Julianne, whose body was thrown 20 feet by the impact, as a sweet and thoughtful child; one said she recently made him a get well card that read, "I Love You Mr. Grey." They also commented how speeding on their street was very common.
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hit and run
Julianne Vega
newark
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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