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The driver was pulling into a parking spot when the Chevy jumped the curb and hit a pillar outside the Spencer Savings Bank at the Terra Mini Mall, spinning the sedan around, a witness told Daily Voice.
She then accelerated for some reason, knocking down the victim and dragging him into a garbage can and a second pillar.
He was killed instantly.
"It looked like she didn't know she hit him at first," a witness told Daily Voice, "until she got out of the car."
The woman was hospitalized with undetermined injuries.
The victim's wife of 57 years and two of their children came to the Market Street scene, responders said.
The bank also was evacuated.
Investigators were reviewing area surveillance video that shows the crash.
"This extremely tragic incident is currently under investigation," township police Capt. John Zotollo said. "Unfortunately no additional information can be provided at this time.
"However, further information will be released when available and appropriate."
The Bergen County Prosecutor's Fatal Accident Investigations team responded, along with local police and firefighters, the Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification (which collects evidence) and members of Hackensack Rescue.
PHOTOS by Cecilia Levine
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