Crime & Safety

Car Strikes and Kills Woman on ShopRite Sidewalk

Berthe Frey, 94, succumbed to head and leg injuries after the accident, police said.

A 94-year-old Monroe woman was killed Thursday after being struck by a car that had lost control and veered onto the sidewalk in front of the ShopRite at East Windsor Town Center Plaza.

According to police, Arthur Pittius, 71, of East Windsor, lost control of his Ford Explorer while he was driving in a parking lot aisle in the direction of the supermarket. The SUV went up onto the sidewalk and struck Berthe Frey, a pedestrian on the walkway, police said.

After striking Frey, the vehicle turned off of the sidewalk in the direction of the parking lot and crashed into the back of a Mitsubishi. The Mitsubishi was being driven by Anthony Reid, of East Windsor, police said; Reid did not suffer any injuries.

After striking Reid’s car, the Explorer then collided with a Honda Civic before coming to a stop in the parking lot. The Honda was being driven by East Windsor resident Joyce Kostrzewga, 76, who also did not sustain any injuries, according to police.

East Windsor police responded to the ShopRite parking lot shortly after the crash occurred at approximately 1 p.m. Frey was transported to Capital Health System-Fuld Campus by an ambulance for head and leg injuries, but she was pronounced dead at the hospital at 3:55 p.m., police said.

The East Windsor Police Department Traffic Safety Unit and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Serious Collision Response Team are investigating the incident and no charges have been filed, according to Lieutenant Harry Marshall of the East Windsor Police Department.


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