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Police search for suspect in crash that killed parents, baby

By Mary Snow, Chris Boyette and Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
updated 7:01 PM EST, Mon March 4, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Police say they're looking for a male suspect in connection with the crash
  • A baby rescued from his dead mother's womb after the crash has died, police say
  • The baby was delivered by C-section after his parents were killed in a car crash
  • His parents had been on the way to the hospital at the time of the crash

New York (CNN) -- New York police are searching for a male suspect in connection with a hit-and-run crash that killed two expectant parents and caused the death of their newborn boy.

Police identified the man as Julio Acevedo, 44, and released a photo of him on Monday. It was not immediately clear how police believe the suspect was connected with the crash.

The New York Police department is seeking Julio Acevedo in connection with the hit and run accident in Brooklyn.
The New York Police department is seeking Julio Acevedo in connection with the hit and run accident in Brooklyn.

Acevedo has a prior criminal record, New York police said.

The police statement comes a day after a car crash that killed Nathan and Raizy Glauber and devastated a close-knit, ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York.

Their baby boy was delivered by cesarean section from his dead mother's womb. He survived for a day before succumbing to his injuries on Monday, police said.

At the time of the crash, the Glaubers -- both 21 -- were on the way to Long Island College Hospital, said Officer Sophia Tassy-Mason, a spokeswoman for the New York City Police Department.

"She just wasn't feeling well and they just, they went to check it out," said Sarah Gluck, Raizy Glauber's cousin.

Crash kills parents on way to hospital
Members of the Brooklyn Orthodox Jewish community attend a news conference Monday, March 4, after an Orthodox couple died in a hit-and run-crash on Sunday. The day after the crash killed them, it claimed another life: their newborn son. Members of the Brooklyn Orthodox Jewish community attend a news conference Monday, March 4, after an Orthodox couple died in a hit-and run-crash on Sunday. The day after the crash killed them, it claimed another life: their newborn son.
Funeral procession after hit and run
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Funeral procession after hit and run Funeral procession after hit and run

Police say a BMW slammed into the Glaubers' cab at an intersection. The two occupants of the BMW fled on foot.

Authorities arrested the registered owner of the BMW on Monday. Takia Walker was arrested on insurance fraud charges, Browne said.

The deadly crash brought heartache to the Glaubers' Hasidic community in Brooklyn, many of whom mourned the couple's deaths at a funeral service on Sunday.

"What can we do now?" Isaac Abraham, a community leader and neighbor of the couple, said on Monday. "We are looking at the prosecutor; we want the people responsible charged with triple homicide, nothing less."

The young Orthodox Jewish couple were "preparing for the most joyous moment in life, to become parents, ready to build a castle to the future and build a family," he told CNN affliate WABC.

"The message to the driver: We know law enforcement is going to get to you," he said. "But our message is give yourself up before we find you."

The driver of the cab, a Toyota Camry, was taken to the hospital and later released.

"The only thing I can remember is when somebody was on the side of me, on the passenger side, telling me, 'Don't worry. Don't worry. The ambulance is on the way,'" driver Pedro Nuñez Delacruz told CNN affiliate WABC. "I feel very lucky, you know, that I'm still alive."

Delacruz said he didn't find out what happened to the Glaubers until he got into the ambulance.

"I feel very sorry for that beautiful family," he said.

Motor vehicle crashes are among the leading causes of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the first nine months of 2012, more than 25,500 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. That number showed a 7% increase over the number of deaths in the same period in 2011, officials said.

Check out the latest news from CNN.com

CNN's Chris Boyette reported from New York. CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet wrote the story in Atlanta. CNN's Mary Snow, Mark J. Norman, Erinn Cawthon, Susan Candiotti, Chris Kokenes, Josh Levs and Mark Morgenstein contributed to this report.

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