Friends, family mourn deaf man fatally struck during police chase in Jersey City
JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (WABC) -- Police in Jersey City are continuing to search for two suspects after a pedestrian who was deaf was fatally struck at a bus stop.
The victim was hit Tuesday morning by an SUV being chased by sheriff's officers throughout Jersey City.
Students and friends of 33-year-old Umar King prayed and hugged Wednesday night, wiping away a fountain of tears.
"I cried a lot yesterday, I'm trying my hardest not to cry cause I wanna be strong for my mother," said the victim's brother Raheem King, who watched from the side. "And I just don't know how to feel right now cause I lost a brother, my only brother."
King was a fixture of the Jersey City deaf community who taught sign language when he wasn't working for FedEx.
Just before dawn Tuesday as he waited for the bus, a sheriff's deputy was chasing a stolen SUV which lost control, jumped the curb and slammed into him.
Umar King was standing in a bus shelter that no longer exists on Kennedy Boulevard, an artery through Jersey City that's as loud as can be, any time of day.
But all he could hear was silence and because of that, he never heard anything coming and never had a chance to get out of the way.
The three teens inside the SUV ran away. Two are still on the loose.
Exclusive video obtained by Eyewitness News shows the teens running from the scene and one being apprehended by a police officer.
"If the cops don't catch 'em, the street's gonna catch 'em," said Raheem King. "All I got is good memories of him you know and I miss him a lot. I just never woulda thought that he would be gone this soon."
Raheem King never got to say goodbye to his big brother and now he is planning his funeral.
Mourners paid their respects Wednesday at a growing memorial for Umar King.
"He was a church-going person who had a big heart," said a friend. "He was a great person and when he loved, he loved a lot. He was such a happy person who brought smiles to everybody."
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