Pedestrian Fractures Leg in Morlot Avenue Strike

A Fair Lawn woman was hospitalized Monday night after being struck by a car on Morlot Avenue, police said.

Jote Nati, 74, was making her way across Morlot Avenue from the northeast corner of 5th Street around 9 p.m., when she was hit by an eastbound car and sent flying 10 feet through the air, Officer Stephen Buskiewicz said.

She fractured one, and possibly both of her legs, but was conscious and alert at the scene before being taken to the hospital, he said. Detective Peter Yuskaitis checked up on Nati at the hospital following the accident and reported that she was in stable condition, Sgt. James Krizek said.

Police said the 54-year-old Fair Lawn man who hit Nati didn't see her until it was too late. He swerved in an attempt to avoid her after she "darted out" into the road, but was unable to do so, explained Buskiewicz, who said Nati's black top and skirt made her tough to see.

Neighbor Melisa Grancaric, who heard the accident from inside her home and rushed outside to find Nati laying on the ground in front of the car, said the driver appeared unharmed, but in shock. Police said he was not issued a summons.

Grancaric expressed concern that the street lamp on the corner of Morlot Avenue and 5th Street had been burned out for as long as she could remember. 

"It is extremely dark at the corner and it is very dangerous," she said.

Buskiewicz confirmed that the street lamp was out at the time of the accident, but could not say how long it had been that way. He said officers submitted a repair slip to have the light fixed following the accident.

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