Members of the Satmar Orthodox Jewish community congregate for the funeral of two expectant parents who were killed in a car accident in Brooklyn. (AP)
A man walks past debris from the fatal accident today. (AP)
Pedro Nunez Delacruz was driving the cab at the time of the accident. (WABC-7)
Nachman and Raizi Glauber on their wedding day (
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An Orthodox Jewish couple from Brooklyn was killed in a car crash early today as they rushed to the hospital to deliver their first child — who survived the tragic accident, authorities said.
Nachman and Raizi Glauber, both 21, were traveling in a black 2008 Toyota Camry livery cab headed to Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill when the crash happened blocks from their home, law enforcement sources said.
Their car was struck by a BMW at the intersection of Kent Avenue and Wilson Street shortly after midnight. The BMW’s driver and passenger–a man and a woman–fled on foot, and cops are still looking for them, law-enforcement sources said.
The BMW’s registered owner is being questioned, law enforcement sources said.
Responding EMTs didn’t immediately spot Raizi Glauber, because she was thrown from the Camry and under a nearby, parked tractor-trailer, according to neighborhood residents who witnessed the aftermath.
Nachman Glauber was pinned inside the twisted livery cab’s wreckage and had to be cut out, witnesses said.
“You could see right away that it was an accident, those cars were really crashed,” one neighbor said.
Nachman Glauber was taken to Beth Israel Hospital and his seven-months pregnant wife to Bellevue. They were both pronounced dead at their respective hospitals.
The couple’s premature son was delivered at Bellevue and is expected to survive.
The driver of the livery cab was taken to Bellevue but later released.
At least one other person was injured, police said.
Paramedic Yisroel Altman said he initially believed both husband and wife could survive, but their head injuries were just too much to overcome.
“I’ve seen worse cases [car accidents], it was the knock on the head that killed them,” said Altman, adding that Raizi Glauber was responsive in the ambulance until a few minutes before she arrived at Bellevue.
Jewish law calls for burial of the dead as soon as possible, and hours after their deaths, the Glaubers were mourned by at least 1,000 people at a funeral outside the Congregation Yetev Lev D’Satmar synagogue. Men in black hats gathered around the coffins in the middle of the street, while women in bright headscarves stood on the sidewalk, in accordance with the Orthodox Jewish tradition of separating the sexes at religious services.
The sound of wailing filled the air as two coffins covered in black velvet with a silver trim were carried from a vehicle. A succession of men and women delivered eulogies in Yiddish, sobbing as they spoke into a microphone about the young couple. “I will never forget you, my daughter!” said Yitzchok Silberstein, Raizy Glauber’s father.
“God is punishing me for my sins by taking away my daughter,” Yitzchak Silberstein said in Yiddish “Nobody knows how this could happen.”
Afterward, the cars carrying the bodies left and headed to Monsey, where another service was planned in Nachman Glauber’s hometown.
“You don’t meet anyone better than him,” said his cousin. “He was always doing favors for everyone.”
She said Nachman’s mother herself just delivered a baby two weeks ago.
“I’ve never seen a mother-son relationship like this,” Sara Glauber said. “He called her every day to make sure everything was OK. He was the sweetest, most charming human being, always with a smile on his face.”
She added that, of him and his bride, “if one had to go, the other had to go too because they really were one soul.”
Community activist Isaac Abraham called the couple’s death “a tragedy beyond [belief] just coming off a joyous holiday as Purim.”
The crash was still under investigation early today, and police were not sure of its cause.
Nachman Glauber grew up in Monsey, NY, and his family founded the popular Orthodox Jews line G & G Clothing.
His wife grew up in Williamsburg and comes from a prominent rabbinical family there, according to community activists. The couple were of the Satmar Hasidic sect.
“It’s a terrible, terrible tragedy. They were going for their first child. There are no words. I don’t even know what to say,” said community leader Rabbi Bernard Freilich.
“They were a very special young couple. They were very nice people, very honored by members of the community. Such young people on their way to have their first baby.”
Freilich added: “It hits every house in the community.”
Nachman Glauber was a popular rabbinical student at Rabbinical College of Bnei Shimon Yisroel of Shopron on Flushing Avenue, about a half-mile from the couple’s home.
“We’re missing a part of our puzzle. God only takes the good people,” said classmate Moshe Meisels, 21. “I couldn’t sleep the whole night knowing it was Nachman.”
Friends knew Nachman for his always-friendly demeanor.
“He had a golden heart,” one pal said.”Every day, he came in with a smile.”
— with AP
Additional reporting by Kate Kowsh, Kirstan Conley and David K. Li