Driver Flees Scene After Striking Elderly Pedestrian

An elderly Fair Lawn woman was struck by a hit-and-run driver Thursday while walking down Fair Lawn Avenue near the intersection of Chandler Drive, police said.

The driver, described by witnesses as a middle-aged white male, allegedly struck the woman with the left side of his green 2001 Toyota wagon while attempting to exit the strip mall located at the corner of Fair Lawn and Chandler, then sped off westbound down Fair Lawn Avenue.

A witness at the scene told police that after hitting the woman the driver stopped, looked back and appeared to observe the victim on the ground waving her arm, and then proceeded to drive away.

Police and Ambulance Corps members tended to the woman on the sidewalk in front of the strip mall for about 20 minutes before strapping her to a gurney and moving her into a waiting ambulance bound for Valley Hospital. She was conscious the entire time and complained of leg and hip injuries, police said. 

With the help of a witness who spotted the car's license plate as it was pulling out of the parking lot, police have traced the vehicle to an individual out of Hillside.

Fair Lawn police have contacted police in Hillside to inform them of the incident and request that the vehicle's owner return to Fair Lawn for questioning. For now the case is still under investigation and police have yet to release the name of the vehicle owner.

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