6-year-old NJ boy walking to synagogue with mom killed by streaking car

Gabe Friedman

(JTA) — A 6-year-old New Jersey boy was struck and killed by a car while walking to his Orthodox synagogue.

Chaim Kraus of Highland Park was heading to Agudath Israel of Edison and Highland Park with his mother, Rochie, when the two were hit by a car that skipped onto the sidewalk curb on Raritan Avenue in their Central Jersey township on Saturday afternoon.

Rochie Kraus, 37, was still being treated for critical injuries as of Monday, according to WABC-TV in New York.

The driver, Shang Zhen Huang, 21, of Piscataway, was treated for minor injuries before being released to police.

Huang has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault and is being held in lieu of a $200,000 bail. Police are still investigating the incident.

A witness told NJ.com that a trashcan had likely been hit during the crash, as it appeared to have ricocheted across the highway street.

“The tragic accident yesterday has the entire community grieving,” Highland Park Mayor Gayle Brill Mittler told NJ.com.