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Holocaust Survivor Mowed Down Crossing Avenue L

By —Tom Tracy

A devout Orthodox Jew who survived the horrors of the Holocaust died tragically early Friday morning in Midwood, officials said. Officials said that 88-year-old Aaron Montal of Borough Park was crossing Nostrand Avenue near the corner of Avenue L at 7 a.m. on January 6 when he was struck down by a white van. Witnesses said that the senior was on his way to Agudas Yisroel Bais Binyomin temple when he was hit. He was not in the crosswalk when the accident took place, officials said. The van, which is owned by Eastern American Data Voice, was traveling northbound on Nostrand Avenue and had the light, officials said. The driver told police that he could not stop in time. As of this writing, no charges had been filed against the driver, who refused to give his name to reporters, or the company he works for. The force of the impact threw Montal, a resident of 53rd Street, upwards of 10 feet away from the van, witnesses told reporters. According to a police, Montal was knocked down and hit his head on the pavement. Hatzolah Ambulance paramedics, who were, ironically, worshipping at the temple Montal was attempting to reach, raced out when they heard the call on their radios. They rushed Montal to Kings County Hospital, where he died at 8:15 a.m. officials said. The father of eight children and a longtime Borough Park resident, Montal saw the best and worst of humanity during his 80-plus years – the worst being Nazi occupied Warsaw during World War II. Family members said that Montal fled Europe just after the war, while in his twenties. Friends said that for the last few years, Montal spent each Friday accepting donations for the poor from local synagogues, following a tradition called “collecting tzedakah.” Following Jewish tradition, Montal was buried before the sun set.