The incident happened on Anderson Avenue in front of the the Fort Lee Community Center at 5 p.m. Monday and left onlookers stunned.
Police say the suspect, identified as 26-year-old Charles Ann, raced his car back and forth over the woman at least three times, and the incident was apparently caught on surveillance cameras.
The victim, 25-year-old Aena Hong, was rushed to Holy Name Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The car was later found, abandoned, at the corner of Tenth and Stillwell avenues. Police say the investigation led to the arrest of Ann, who reportedly had a tumultuous dating relationship with Hong. According to authorities, Ann struck Hong intentionally and is charged with first-degree murder.
Witnesses say Hong was walking down the street, arguing with Ann, who was driving alongside her. Police say Ann then drove away from Hong and turned the car around. Then, when she was crossing the street, Ann accelerated rapidly and struck Hong.
Police say that after striking Hong, Ann put the car in reverse and backed up over her again, going forward and backward approximately three times.
One witness says he tried to stop the attack, going right up to the car and attempting to pull open the door. Then he pounded on the window, but the driver ignored him, until he was satisfied with what he had done.
"I never saw something like this in my life, it's like a movie," Nazarat Manoukin said. "I try to open the door, and the door was locked. I couldn't do anything. He ran over her again and then eventually escaped."
"A neighbor was trying to stop the car," witness Susie He said. "He actually yelling that car, stop, but that guy wouldn't stop. He just run over the body, back and forth, back and forth, I counted three times."
After the incident, Ann fled into Flushing, Queens, where was subsequently located by investigators and arrested at 4 a.m.
At the time of his arrest, Ann was found to be in possession of his passport and a large sum of cash. It is believed that he was attempting to flee the country.
Although a naturalized citizen, Ann is a native of Korea and has ties to that country through relatives. Ann is currently unemployed and had been dating Hong for approximately one year.
Ann is being held on $3 million bail with no 10 percent option.
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