Man Dies After N.Y. Hit-and-Run

NEW YORK — A New Jersey man who shot two people and plowed his car into 26 others in a weeklong crime spree could face a murder charge following the death Friday of one of the hit-and-run victims, police said.

The suspect, Ronald Popadich, 39, of Garfield, has already been charged with attempted murder in the Sunday shooting of his neighbor. He pleaded not guilty Friday to those charges during a brief court appearance.

Authorities say Popadich struck 19 pedestrians Tuesday in Manhattan at the intersection of 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue. Two days later, police said, he returned to the city in a stolen car and slammed into seven more people within sight of Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden.

A 41-year-old man struck in the first hit-and-run died Friday morning after undergoing surgery to repair compound leg fractures, said Jasmine Collazo, a St. Vincent’s Hospital spokeswoman.

A spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, Barbara Thompson, said Friday that prosecutors would present a murder case to a grand jury following the pedestrian’s death.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said it had not yet been determined whether Popadich would be extradited to New York, or if New Jersey would go ahead with its case first.

Public Defender Melody Merola left Friday’s brief court hearing without commenting to reporters.

Popadich, 39, was arrested Thursday at the home he shares with his mother.

Once in custody, Popadich confessed to both hit-and-runs and the shooting of neighbor Lisa Gotkin, authorities said. Popadich also said he shot a cabdriver Wednesday night, two law enforcement officials told Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.