Crosswalk without a warning sign proved deadly to woman, 76, out for a daily stroll

JINXED CROSSWALK: None of the 4 crosswalks on Passaic Street and Summit Avenue in Hackensack -- including this one on Passaic Street, used by Carol A. Ventura before her untimely death on May 13, 2021 -- have "Walk/Don't Walk" signs or any other warning to alert pedestrians about turning vehicles from Summit Avenue, like the Tesla I photographed yesterday, above. 

 

She was hit by one vehicle, 

then run over by a trailer

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- When a 76-year-old woman set out for her daily late afternoon walk in her neighborhood two weeks ago, she didn't stand a chance as she stepped off the curb at dusk and into a crosswalk on Passaic Street at Summit Avenue.

Not only are the crosswalk stripes non-reflective, faded or missing, but there is no lighted sign warning pedestrians like Carol A. Ventura it is unsafe to walk as vehicles on Summit get a green arrow and turn onto Passaic Street and into the crosswalk she was using.

That late afternoon walk on May 13 proved to be Ventura's last as first a pickup truck turning onto Passaic from the Summit Avenue turn lane hit her and knocked her down shortly after 8:30 p.m., police said.

Then, a second driver, like the first, said he didn't see the woman, and she was run over by a landscaping trailer his vehicle was pulling.

Ventura, who had retired recently after 25 years as a sales administration manager at E.T. Browne Drug Co. in Englewood Cliffs, died a short time later at the hospital.

She lived not far away in The Pierre Apartments on Prospect Avenue in Hackensack.

No 'Walk/Don't Walk' signs

None of the 4 crosswalks at the busy intersection of Summit Avenue and Passaic Street -- in Hackensack's Fairmount section -- have "Walk/Don't Walk" signs.

The intersection has long been cursed by drivers on narrow, 2-lane Passaic Street -- a major artery leading to Maywood, Rochelle Park and Paramus -- because there are no turn lanes for vehicles on Passaic at Summit Avenue.

The street dates to the Revolutionary War, and the intersection, maintained by Bergen County, would look more at home in an underdeveloped country.

NO WARNING OF TURNING VEHICLES: The second crosswalk on Passaic Street at Summit Avenue, above, has no sign to alert pedestrians they should look out for cars or trucks turning into the street from Summit Avenue.

No help for pedestrians 

Pedestrians also are sitting ducks on Polifly Road in Hackensack, where a 3-block stretch with a busy CVS Pharmacy on one side of the 4-lane street and an apartment building on the other side lacks crosswalks or traffic lights.

On March 4, 2021, Lillian J. Holmes, 81, of Hackensack died after she was knocked down by a hit-run driver in a black SUV, and struck by a second driver as she was crossing the darkened street to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy.

Polifly Road is another street "maintained" by Bergen County.

June 4 services

Services for Carol A. Ventura. who turned 76 on April 13, one month before she was killed, will be held on June 4 at G. Thomas Gentile Funeral Home at 397 Union St. in Hackensack.

A celebration of her life will take place at Nanni Ristorante in Rochelle Park.

"Carol had been embracing her retirement and looking forward to spending more time with her cherished companion" -- identified as William J. Gaynor -- according to her obituary.

Ventura grew up in North Bergen, earned a bachelor's degree at Montclair State University and became a school teacher.

Read her full obituary on the funeral home website: 

Obituary of Carol A. Ventura

READ: Yet another careless driver 

is getting away with running down a pedestrian

Lillian J. Holmes, 81, of Hackensack lived a full life before a hit-run driver killed her

The funeral for Lilian J. Holmes will be held on Monday at the G. Thomas Gentile Funeral Home on Union Street in Hackensack.  (This image was provided by the funeral home). 

Victim was crossing street;

damaged BMW X-5 SUV

fled scene on Polifly Road

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Lillian J. Holmes was known affectionately by her family as Polly.

She was the first of seven children born to Junior and Juanita Walker in Osierfield, Ga., and in 1944, the family moved to Westchester County, N.Y.

After graduating from Yonkers High School, she began working at a hardware store there as a customer service representative. 

Lillian Walker married her high school sweetheart, Quentin "Butch" Hicks, and they had two daughters, Ruth and Lillian.

Years later, she met Zabdail Holmes. They eventually married (in 1982), and moved to Hackensack. 

She lived on Beech Street at the time of her death.

Love of bowling

The couple shared their love of bowling together in leagues, and Lillian served on the Board of Directors of the New Jersey State Bowling Association from 2010 to her death on March 4.

Holmes, 81, was crossing a darkened Polifly Road, between Sutton and Marvin avenues, when she was struck by a late model black 2013 or 2014 BMW X-5 SUV. 

The driver fled and remains at lodge, but a second driver whose vehicle also hit Holmes stayed on the scene, police said.

There are no painted crosswalks or traffic lights on or near those blocks of Polifly Road.

Holmes was going to the CVS Pharmacy on Polifly Road to pick up a prescription, family members told NorthJersey.com.

Family tributes

"She could turn a bad event into something good because of her smile," family members said in an obituary published by the G. Thomas Gentile Funeral Home, where her funeral will begin on Monday.

"She enjoyed life and always brought a smile to those around her. She also loved going out to eat with friends and family.

"She had an uncanny ability to find happiness wherever she went because of her loving and pleasant personality.

"Our beloved sister, mother, aunt, godmother and friend may have had her life taken, but this is heaven's gain.

"Her laughter, loving heart and joyful spirit have left a beacon of light for all who knew her."

'Didn't deserve to die'

"She didn't deserve to die like this," a niece said on social media after investigators posted an image of a black BMW X-5 like the one that hit and killed Holmes.

"My heart is aching for the family," Ginger Thompson commented on Facebook. "It was very scary to see the aftermath of the accident."

A black BMW X-5 SUV like the one that killed Lillian J. Holmes, 81, on March 4, 2021, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. Investigators are looking for a 2013 or 2014 model with damage to the left (driver's) side and front of the vehicle.