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Driver Takes Off After Fatally Striking Teen In Jersey City, Cops Say

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- One teenager was killed and another critically hurt in a hit-and-run crash in New Jersey.

Police are searching for the driver they say ran off after abandoning the car at the scene Wednesday afternoon.

As CBS2's Valerie Castro reported, a 15-year-old was killed, and another teen was rushed to the hospital.

"For me to grow up with one of the kids, that's completely heartbreaking. And the other kid that passed away, I just met him this year," friend Ethan Ramos said.

"My child was friends with these children and it's a sad thing," Jadira Ramos said.

The teenagers were apparently riding together on a single bicycle when they were struck by the car around 2:30 on Terrace Avenue in Jersey City.

The impact left the front of the car mangled and the windshield shattered. It sent one of the teens flying over a metal fence, police said.

"That's the individual in critical condition, the one that went over the fence," Esther Suarez said.

Police said the driver of the car initially didn't stop. Later, police said they had the car along with two passengers, but were searching for the driver.

Neighbors said they heard the ambulance sirens and came outside to see what had happened.

"That's horrible. You hit somebody, you know you should take care of it. Call the police right away," one bystander said.

It's a stretch of road that neighbors say is often dangerous, and parents worry about how fast drivers are going.

"This could have been avoided, but people just come out and they speed and they don't watch where they're going, and it's just sad, it's just sad," Jadira said.

Teens who know the boys cried and consoled each other -- still trying to understand how this happened.

"You left two kids' families broken," Jadira added. "To the person whoever did it, they just need to give themselves up."

Late Wednesday night, police were searching the neighborhood with a dog -- possibly trying to track down the direction the driver fled.

The crash remains under investigation.

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