Paterson Woman Sought In Fatal North Bergen Hit And Run

NORTH BERGEN, NJ — This Paterson woman has now been identified by the Hudson County prosecutor's office as the woman suspected of hitting a North Bergen mother of two this February, leaving her to die in the street as she drove off, the prosecutor said.

The fatal hit-and-run occurred on Monday, February 18 (Presidents' Day), at approximately 8:15 p.m. in North Bergen. Darlene Westbrook, 34, was found lying in the roadway on 43rd Street in the area of Tonnelle Avenue that night. She was dead when passersby found her, the prosecutor said.

On Monday, March 4, an arrest warrant was issued for Monica D. Ippolito, 49, of Paterson, for her role in the death.

Ippolito is the suspected driver of the gold Chrysler Voyager minivan that police say hit Westbrook. According to CBS 2, Westbrook, a mother of two, was hit as she got off a bus returning from New York City. She was crossing a side street when she was hit. Tragically, her boyfriend of six years, Joseph Marrero, told CBS 2 he learned she was hit by the gold minivan, bounced onto the roof and then somehow held on for several blocks before she fell off. In the interview, Marrero can be seen fighting back tears, and he pleaded with the driver to turn themselves in.

Westbrook was the mother of two toddler boys.

The gold minivan was observed on surveillance video recently made public by the county prosecutor. Ippolito has been criminally charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision resulting in death.

The police are now asking the public for assistance in locating Monica Ippolito.

Anyone with information concerning her whereabouts is asked to contact the Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit at 201-915-1345. You can call anonymously. Or leave an anonymous tip on the Prosecutor’s Office official website at: http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/. All information will be kept confidential.