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Witnesses: Car Backs Up And Runs Over Woman Several Times In Fort Lee

FORT LEE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – Was it a deadly accident or a hit and run done on purpose?

On Monday night, witnesses reported a horrifying scene -- a woman hit repeatedly by the same car. Now, police are searching for the driver, reports CBS 2's Derricke Dennis.

The scene was shocking – tennis shoes spread apart on the street, evidence of a hit and run that left a woman dead in the road, and witnesses horrified.

"I just kept talking to her. I didn't know what else to do. She was definitely very, very hurt," witness Pam Roseland said.

The retired nurse was still visibly upset and said she and her neighbors heard the commotion, went outside and couldn't believe their eyes. A black car, possibly a Hyundai Sonata being checked by police, was found parked in a neighborhood about a mile away. It is believed to be the one that hit the woman, and was then seen backing up, and running over her again.

"I didn't get the license plate, because I was confused, what's going on, really?" witness Nazaret Manoukin said.

"Run back and forth, back and forth, couple of times, I counted. It's like at least more than three times," Susie He added.

"Then he ran over her again. If you don't believe me, I was almost gonna break the window," Manoukin said.

Fort Lee Police, along with the Bergen County Sheriff's Department, are investigating, but they weren't talking Monday night. They collected surveillance video from the Fort Lee Community Center just steps away, and were interviewing neighbors.

Fort Lee crime scene
The scene where a car apparently struck a woman and then backed up and ran her over several more times before pulling away. (Photo: Sonia Rincon/1010 WINS)

One man said he physically tried to stop the car.

"I tried to open the door, and the door was locked," he said. "He deliberately killed that woman I think."

No one appears to know who the victim is. Her tennis shoes in the street were a haunting reminder to neighbors who could do nothing to save her life.

"I couldn't touch her and I just wish I could have done something," one person said.

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