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Wedding Guest Killed By Hit-Run Driver Outside Fiesta On Route 17

UPDATE: Authorities have the hit-and-run vehicle that struck and killed a 20-year-old wedding guest from Massachusetts outside a popular Route 17 catering hall Saturday night.

Southbound Route 17 in Wood-Ridge remained closed for several hours.

Southbound Route 17 in Wood-Ridge remained closed for several hours.

Photo Credit: DAILY VOICE
The scene outside the Fiesta on southbound Route 17 in Wood-Ridge.

The scene outside the Fiesta on southbound Route 17 in Wood-Ridge.

Photo Credit: DAILY VOICE

Now they just need to determine who was driving.

Witnesses and several occupants who were in the vehicle at the time were being interviewed.

"We need to make sure which one was the actual driver," Bergen County Prosecutor's Chief of Detectives Robert Anzilotti told Daily Voice around noontime.

An alert initially was broadcast for a red Dodge that fled the scene after the victim from Roxbury, MA was struck outside the main driveway of the Fiesta in Wood-Ridge shortly before 10 p.m.

Several attendees sobbed while others were heard screaming at the catering hall, where the victim had been attending a wedding, a guest at another event told Daily Voice.

The bride got medical attention after becoming faint, he said.

Another crash occurred when a vehicle apparently tried to avoid the victim and struck the divider, responders said.

The Bergen County Prosecutor's Fatal Accident Investigations Unit joined police, firefighters and EMS workers who made the pronouncement at the scene.

The Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification collected evidence. A county medical examiner and state Department of Transportation crew were summoned, as well.

The southbound highway remained closed at Franklin Avenue until 4 a.m.

ANYONE who may have witnessed the crash or has information that could help identify the driver responsible is asked to call Wood-Ridge police at (201) 939-0476 or the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office at (201) 646-2300

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