Woman Mistaken for Trash Bag Dies After Being Dragged Two Miles in Newark

A Newark woman mistaken for trash bag died on Friday, November 6, 2026, after a driver struck her on Sherman Avenue and drove about two miles with her trapped beneath the vehicle, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. The driver continued to the Extra Supermarket at 327 Lyons Avenue in the city’s Weequahic neighbourhood, parked and went inside to shop, only discovering the woman under her car when she tried to leave. Police were called to the supermarket car park just before 7 p.m., and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Neither the victim nor the driver has been publicly identified, and no criminal charges have been announced.

Key Points

• A woman died on Friday, November 6, 2026, in Newark, New Jersey, after being struck on Sherman Avenue and dragged about two miles under a car.
• The driver told police she believed she had hit a black garbage bag and did not stop, driving on to the Extra Supermarket at 327 Lyons Avenue.
• The woman was found under the vehicle in the supermarket car park, where police were called just before 7 p.m. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
• Neither the victim nor the driver has been publicly identified, and no criminal charges have been announced.
• The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is asking witnesses and anyone with dashcam footage to call its confidential tip line at 1-877-847-7432.

What Happened

The incident began on Sherman Avenue on the evening of Friday, November 6, 2026. According to the account the driver later gave to police, she was travelling south when her car struck something in the road. She believed the object was a black garbage bag and did not stop. Instead, she kept driving for about two miles, with the woman trapped underneath her vehicle, until she reached the Extra Supermarket at 327 Lyons Avenue.

There, the driver parked her car and went inside the supermarket to shop. It was only when she came back out and tried to leave that she found the woman under her car. Police were called to the supermarket car park just before 7 p.m. after reports of a woman under a vehicle, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators have not said how long the woman had been in the road or what she was doing there.

Background and Context

Newark is New Jersey’s largest city, and the Weequahic neighbourhood on the city’s south side is a long-established residential area of brick apartment buildings, small shops and family homes. Sherman Avenue and Lyons Avenue are ordinary city streets, where pedestrians, parked cars and rubbish bags left out for collection share the same roadside space every day.

The incident happened on a Friday evening in early November, when darkness falls early in New Jersey and visibility on residential streets can be poor. Police have not said what the lighting conditions were on Sherman Avenue at the time, and investigators have not released any information about the woman’s age or background.

Woman Mistaken for Trash Bag: What Police Say Happened

According to the account given to police, the driver was travelling south on Sherman Avenue when her car hit something lying in the road. She told officers she believed it was a black garbage bag and carried on driving. The woman remained trapped under the car for the roughly two-mile journey to the Extra Supermarket, where the driver parked and went inside to shop. It was only on her return to the vehicle that the driver discovered the woman underneath.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed the broad outline of events but has not released the driver’s name, the victim’s name, the make and model of the vehicle. No criminal charges have been announced. Cases in which a driver strikes a pedestrian and fails to stop are normally treated very seriously under New Jersey law, but this case is unusual because the driver says she did not know she had hit a person at all. That distinction is likely to matter a great deal in how prosecutors assess the case, and it is one reason investigators are appealing for dashcam footage.

Reactions and Quotes

Public reaction to the case has been one of shock, with the details — a woman mistaken for a rubbish bag and dragged two miles through a city — striking many readers as almost impossible to believe. The case was first reported in detail by People, NDTV and The Times of India. It was confirmed by Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II and Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda, but neither has issued a longer public statement, and no direct quotations from either official have been released.

The clearest public message from investigators so far is the appeal for help. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is asking anyone who was in the area on Friday evening, or who was driving along Sherman Avenue or Lyons Avenue and may have dashcam footage, to call its confidential tip line at 1-877-847-7432.

Why It Matters

The Newark case matters because it raises difficult questions about road safety, driver awareness and the vulnerability of pedestrians on city streets after dark. A person lying in a road is hard to see at the best of times, and harder still on a dark November evening. The driver’s account — that she believed she had struck a black garbage bag — points to how easily a person can be misread as an object when visibility is poor, and to how much depends on a driver stopping to check after any impact.

What Happens Next

The investigation is ongoing, and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has not set out a timetable for any decision on charges. Investigators will be examining the vehicle, reviewing any available CCTV and dashcam footage, and speaking to witnesses along the route from Sherman Avenue to the supermarket on Lyons Avenue. They will also be working to identify the victim and notify her family before her name can be released.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened in Newark on November 6, 2026?
A woman died after a driver struck her on Sherman Avenue, mistook her for a black garbage bag and drove about two miles with her trapped under the car to a supermarket on Lyons Avenue.

Where was the woman found?
She was found under the driver’s car in the car park of the Extra Supermarket at 327 Lyons Avenue in Newark’s Weequahic neighbourhood.

Has the driver been charged?
No. No criminal charges have been announced, and the driver has not been publicly identified.

Has the victim been identified?
No. The victim has not been publicly identified, and officials have released no details about her age or background.

How can witnesses help?
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is asking witnesses and anyone with dashcam footage to call its confidential tip line at 1-877-847-7432.

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