'Different type of pain': No arrest after death of hospital worker struck in Passaic

PATERSON — Community activist Teddie Martinez once thought suffering 13 gunshots was the worst pain he had ever endured.

But he said that nothing prepared him for losing his older sister to a hit-and-run crash earlier this month. What makes things even worse is that no one has been charged in connection with her killing, he said.

“This is a different type of pain,” Martinez told Paterson Press.

A prominent outreach worker known for turning his life around from street gangs to social justice activism, Martinez said the movement he has been a part of had finally “shown up at his doorstep.”

Rachel McNeil, 58, was fatally struck by a vehicle as she walked home from St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic, where she worked. It was the first pedestrian fatality in Passaic since September 2022, New Jersey State Police records show. McNeil leaves behind a large family including two sons, a daughter and 13 grandchildren.

“This is real personal,” Martinez told the crowd of 30 friends and family members gathered on North Main Street for a candlelight vigil on Friday evening.

Martinez, who was recently named a community liaison to the Paterson police, vowed to those present at the vigil that he would be relentless in his pursuit of justice.

“We need to let them know that we’re still here — we can’t let up on them,” said Martinez, who is planning a rally in Passaic on Aycrigg Avenue where the fatal crash happened.

Friday's gathering was held on North Main Street in Paterson's 1st Ward, where McNeil grew up.

Diane Goodwin, 62, who comes from the same neighborhood as the Martinez family, said she hadn’t seen McNeil for several years but made a point to pay her respects to her former neighbor. “Hearing about her death was a shock to all of us,” Goodwin said.

Kelvin Dickson, a friend of Martinez's and a member of his men’s group, said a younger version of Martinez might have sought revenge. But now he must put his faith in a system that has not always delivered justice to the Black community.

“The first thing I thought about was Teddie,” Dickson said. “I commend him for not letting something this tragic take him out of the head space he is in now — because he is in a great head space.”

Soon after McNeil's death, Passaic Mayor Hector Lora said a suspect had been apprehended, but more than a week later, no one has been charged. The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office did not respond to inquiries about the status of the investigation.

“There is no reason that man is not in handcuffs or in jail right now,” Zellie Thomas, an organizer for Black Lives Matter Paterson, said of the person who was questioned.

Thomas knew McNeil personally. “I’m willing to do anything to ensure this woman gets justice," he said. "This fight isn’t going to be something easy — we’re in this for the long haul.”

'Rachel was his pen pal'

Denise Martinez, 52, said her older sister was a free spirit who had an important role in her brother’s decision to turn his life around. “Teddie was incarcerated for 15 years, and Rachel was his pen pal — she wrote to him every day,” Martinez said. “She loved everybody despite flaws and all.”

Martinez, who last spoke to her sister on the phone on the day she was killed, said the lack of answers from the Police Department has weighed on the family.

“This is something Teddie does every day, and usually there’s some resolve,” she said. “But there’s no results. It’s really frustrating.”

At the end of the vigil, McNeil’s son Tedvon broke down in anguish. “That was my mother,” he cried. “I wish they took me instead.”

The funeral service will be on April 27 at 10 a.m. at Seminary Baptist Church, 193 Haledon Ave., Paterson.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Still no arrest after pedestrian killed in Passaic