Tragedy Beyond' Belief: Expectant Couple Killed on Their Way to the Hospital, But Their Baby Survives

A young New York couple was killed in a car crash early Sunday as they were en route to the hospital to have their first child. (Image source: NY1)

NEW YORK (TheBlaze/AP) -- A young couple who had taken a car service to a hospital for the birth of their first child were killed en route in a hit and run early Sunday, but their baby boy survived, born prematurely, authorities and a neighbor said.

Nathan and Raizy Glauber, both 21, were killed early Sunday, but their newborn infant survived. (Image source: NY1)

The driver of a BMW slammed into the car carrying Nathan and Raizy Glauber, both 21, at an intersection in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, said Isaac Abraham, a neighbor of Raizy Glauber's parents who lives two blocks from the scene of the crash. Both of the Glaubers were pronounced dead at hospitals, police said.

Their infant son was in serious condition at a hospital, said Abraham, and the driver of their car was in stable condition, police said.

Both the driver of the vehicle that hit the couple's car and a passenger fled and are being sought, police said.

The Glaubers were Orthodox Jews, and Abraham often speaks publicly for the different sects in the ultra-orthodox community, which has strict rules governing clothing, social customs and interaction with the outside world. Men wear dark clothing that includes a long coat and a fedora-type hat and often have long beards and ear locks.

Abraham called the couple's death "a tragedy beyond (belief) just coming off a joyous holiday as Purim" as they were getting ready to welcome their first child.

They had been married less than a year, family member Barry Sekate told told NY1 News.

"This baby will be well taken care of. It's a large family, a community," Abraham told the station. "This baby unfortunately will have to grow up and find out at a later date it has no parents."

Brooklyn is home to the largest community of ultra-orthodox Jews outside Israel, more than 250,000.