Oct 17, 2008 6:00 pm US/Eastern
Horror: Child Dead, 4 Injured In High-Speed Chase
10-Year-Old Girl Killed, 14-Year-Old Boy In Critical Condition
By CBS 2's Carolyn Costello
HACKENSACK, N.J. (CBS) ―
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One of the victims in the fatal high speed chase is a 14-year-old boy who remains in critical condition at Hackensack Hospital.
CBS
A young girl is dead and a teenage boy is in critical condition after a high-speed crash that began shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday evening. Police say the tragic accident was caused by a thief who sped off in a stolen car.
The deceased victim, identified as 10-year-old Miriam Avraham, was in the back seat of a Honda Accord driven by her mother, 46-year-old Helene Avraham, when it was ripped in half by a Mercedes-Benz stolen by 22-year-old Harold Saenz moments earlier from a house in Bergenfield.
Miriam was laid to rest at Cedar Park Cemetery in Paramus on Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the accident, as Jewish custom requires. The young girl was in the sixth grade at the Solomon Schecter School in New Milford where teachers were trying to explain the tragedy of Miriam's loss.
"They have questions we can't answer. We just tell them we're grieving with them and ask them to remember Miriam," said Solomon Schecter's Elissa Maier. "What an extraordinary child she was."
Also in the car was Miriam's brother, Shachar, and his friend Eric Brauner, both 14-year-old ninth grade students at The Frisch School. The two boys and Mrs. Avraham were taken to the Hackensack University Medical Center, where Brauner remains in critical condition.
According to police, the chase began when a Sylvan Avenue resident left his keys in the Mercedes.
"He came out to find Saenz driving off in the vehicle. The owner then got in his BMW, called 911 and pursued the stolen sedan," Molinelli said.
The Honda's driver was making a left turn onto New Bridge when it was broadsided, literally tearing the Accord in half. The rear of the vehicle was thrown over 20 feet away.
"It was like a sound I've never heard before. The impact of the crash made a very loud sound. I saw the victims and the scene is hard to describe," said witness Dave Younie.
The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office says police were on their way to the scene when the fatal accident occurred, and that at the time, the owner of the Mercedes was the only one following the car.
"The debris is probably down about 300 feet from where the Mercedes hit the Honda, and then the Honda continued down the road where it hit other objects," said New Milford Mayor Frank Debari. "There's debris all over the place. It's unbelievable."
Brauner was believed to be seated beside Miriam and sustained critical injuries, suffering a broken tibia and fibula, along with severe internal damage, said Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli.
A source tells CBS 2 that Shachar Avraham suffered less serious injuries and was expected to leave the hospital on Friday.
Saenz, of Bergenfield, was under police guard Thursday night at Hackensack University Medical Center, charged with felony murder and aggravated manslaughter. He is being held on $1 million bail.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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