Mother and son survived homelessness during a pandemic. Then tragedy struck again.
Updated Dec 21, 2020;
In a year when anything could go wrong for Deborah Smick, everything did.
A series of compounding misfortunes delivered Smick last Tuesday evening to a Route 1 intersection in South Brunswick where she was struck and killed by an SUV.
It was 10 months after she and her son George were evicted from their North Brunswick apartment, forcing them to live out of their aging Ford Explorer during a pandemic.
It was hours after the worn-out starter went on the SUV, leaving the pair stranded in the parking lot of the Wendy’s where Deborah Smick worked.
UpdatedMon, Dec 21, 2020 at 9:46 pm ET
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Deborah Smick, 68, was killed when she tried crossing Route 1 at Deans Lane on Tuesday, said police. (George Smick)
SOUTH BRUSNWICK, NJ Ten months ago, Deborah Smick and her son George, were evicted from their North Brunswick apartment, forcing them to live in their car as the pandemic raged.
On Tuesday, things got worse. With the nor easter fast approaching, Deborah, 68, and George needed to get their car fixed. Their Ford Explorer had broken down at the Wendy s parking lot on Route 1, where she worked.
They called a tow truck, but the driver refused to drive them to the nearby service station, said George. They argued with the driver, and finally gave up.
A 68-year-old resident of North Brunswick was struck by a vehicle when she tried to cross Route 1 ar Deans Lane in South Brunswick at about 7 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Deborah Smick’s vehicle had become disabled in the Wendy’s Restaurant parking lot on Route 1, so she called a North Brunswick towing company. The company picked up her vehicle and brought it across the highway to a gas station. Smick was walking across the highway when she was struck by a 2016 Honda CRV driven by a 63-year-old Staten Island man.
Several witnesses reported that the traffic signal was green for Route 1 traffic when Smick began to cross the road. Investigators believe Smick may have been distracted as she began to cross the highway. The driver of the Honda who hit her stayed on the scene and cooperated with investigators, police said.
North Brunswick woman fatally injured after crossing highway from disabled vehicle
North Brunswick woman fatally injured after crossing highway from disabled vehicle
South Brunswick police identified the pedestrian killed on Dec. 15 as 68-year-old Deborah Smick of North Brunswick.
The crash was reported at 7:02 p.m. on Route 1 at Deans Lane in South Brunswick. An investigation by South Brunswick Traffic Safety Bureau determined Smick’s vehicle had become disabled in the Wendy’s restaurant parking lot at 3800 Route 1.
Smick called a North Brunswick tow company who had picked up her vehicle and was bringing it across the highway to a gas station. Smick was walking across the highway when she was struck, according to information provided by the South Brunswick Police Department on Dec. 18.
Pedestrian struck and killed after her car broke down in parking lot, cops say
Updated Dec 18, 2020;
The pedestrian struck and killed by an SUV while crossing Route 1 in South Brunswick on Tuesday was crossing the highway after her vehicle became disabled in a nearby parking lot, authorities said Thursday.
Deborah Smick, 68, of North Brunswick was hit on the northbound side just after 7 p.m. near the intersection with Deans Lane, South Brunswick police said.
After Smick’s car broke down in the Wendy’s parking lot, she called a tow company. The tow truck driver picked up her vehicle and was bringing it to a service station across Route 1 when Smick was hit as she tried to cross, police said.