Women struck dead by fleeing car after NJ World Cup party

UPDATE: On Wednesday, Essex County prosecutors announced that David Zapata-Vera, 26, of Newark, surrendered to police. He is charged with two counts each of second-degree vehicular homicide, second-degree leaving the scene of a fatal crash, and third-degree endangering an injured victim

🔴 Two women were struck and killed by a driver who fled a Newark intersection Saturday night.

➡️ Essex County prosecutors identified the victims as Mariana Beltran, 58, and Maria Salgado Ayala, 61.

NEWARK — Authorities have identified two women killed in a shocking hit-and-run.

On Saturday night, police found the victims on North 7th Street at the corner of Park Avenue. Video obtained by ABC 7 Eyewitness News shows that horrified onlookers standing in disbelief around 11 p.m. after a sedan struck the two pedestrians and did not stop. Witnesses called the police.

Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens identified the victims as Mariana Elizabeth Valverde Beltran, 58, of Elizabeth, and Maria Isabel DeLosAngeles Salgado Ayala, 61, of Newark. They were declared dead at the hospital.

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A red sedan hits two women in a Newark crosswalk on Saturday, June 20, 2026. (Screenshot via ABC 7 Eyewitness News)

Friends were leaving a Newark World Cup watch party

The victims, both wearing yellow, were friends leaving a World Cup watch party in the city, ABC 7 reported. That night, Ecuador played Curaçao in Philadelphia, where the game ended in a tie. Ecuador's players wore yellow jerseys.

Beltran's cousin said to ABC 7 that his father is contacting Beltran's son and sisters, who live in Ecuador, with the horrible news.

Authorities haven't identified the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run. From the video, it appears the car is a red sedan. An arrest was announced on Wednesday.

David Zapata-Vera (Essex County Prosecutor's Office/Canva)

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