SHARE

Update: Midland Park Mailman, 47, Charged In Ridgewood Hit-Run Death

MUGSHOT: Bergen County prosecutor's detectives charged a 47-year-old postal carrier from Midland Park with the hit-and-run death of a Hawthorne man in Ridgewood earlier this week.

Rafael Ramos

Rafael Ramos

Photo Credit: MUGSHOT: Courtesy BERGEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR
At the scene.

At the scene.

Photo Credit: Boyd A. Loving

The Chevy Trailblazer involved is seen stopping at the top of the frame before proceeding straight through the intersection.

Photo Credit: COURTESY: Bergen County Prosecutor

The Trailblazer is seen driving by on the left.

Photo Credit: COURTESY: Bergen County Prosecutor

The SUV is seen turning right onto West Ridgewood Avenue.

Photo Credit: Jerry DeMarco
An arrest has been made.

An arrest has been made.

Photo Credit: PHOTO: Boyd A. Loving / INSET: Facebook

Rafael Ramos was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident and ordered held in the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance Monday in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo confirmed Saturday night.

Ramos's Chevy Blazer was towed from the driveway of his home on Prospect Street. It will be processed for evidence by the Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification in Hackensack.

Surveillance video released Thursday night shows the SUV, which authorities said took off after running over and killing Edward Rao, a 54-year-old former Ridgewood real estate agent, in front of 15 West Ridgewood Avenue near the village train station.

Authorities described the vehicle as a dark, four-door 2002-2009 Trailblazer, of which there were an estimated 100 or so apparently registered in New Jersey.

Ramos's home, near Midland Park High School, is less than two miles -- and two soft rights -- from the scene.

SEE: Trio Of Video Clips Show Hit-Run SUV That Killed Hawthorne Man In Ridgewood

******

TRIBUTE: A funeral service for Ed Rao is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Anthony’s RC Church (Diamond Bridge Avenue) in Hawthorne. Visiting hours are from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Feeney Funeral Home, 232 Franklin Ave., Ridgewood.

SEE: Tribute for Edward J. Rao

A GoFundMe account has been established for the family: Edward J. Rao Memorial

******

Rao apparently had fallen into the street and was struck by the Trailblazer on West Ridgewood Avenue, near the intersection of Library Place, around 7:20 p.m.Monday.

The vehicle continued westbound on West Ridgewood Avenue, toward Midland Park, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said.

Rao was taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson, where he was later pronounced dead.

CHECK BACK FOR MORE DETAILS

to follow Daily Voice Cliffside Park-Edgewater and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE