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Family calls for speed bumps after son is killed

The family of an 8-year-old boy struck and killed by an alleged hit-and-run driver in Jersey City is calling on the city to install speed bumps on the road to prevent future tragedies. Jermaine Woodward

News 12 Staff

Jul 1, 2015, 4:30 AM

Updated 3,491 days ago

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The family of an 8-year-old boy struck and killed by an alleged hit-and-run driver in Jersey City is calling on the city to install speed bumps on the road to prevent future tragedies.
Jermaine Woodward Jr., 8, died Monday after being hit by a car Sunday at around 8 p.m. on Bostwick Avenue. The family says two speeding vehicles struck the boy as he was trying to cross the street and then did not stop. A sidewalk memorial was created to honor the boy, who loved to play football.
However, while Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and his staff offer condolences to the family, he says this was not a hit-and-run.
"There were two cars involved in a horrible accident. One left, they were brothers, and one left in order to get another family member," Mayor Fulop says.
The Woodward family disputes this and says they witnessed the accident.
"That's not what happened. It was a hit-and-run," says Jermaine Woodward Sr., "My son stepped right here...in the bike lane...and a driver comes speeding down driving in the wrong lane."
Friends and family say speeding has become a problem since that area of Bostwick Avenue was recently repaved. Jersey City officials have installed a speed sign to collect traffic data to see if speed bumps are needed.
Mayor Fulop says that while no charges have been filed at this time, the investigation into the accident is far from over.