Jerry Wolkowitz, a freelance reporter, EMT and the son of Holocaust survivors, died Thursday months after being attacked and beaten reportedly for being white.
The Ashbury Park Press reports that the 56-year-old New Jersey man was jumped, assaulted, robbed and run over with a car six months ago by a black man who authorities say targeted Wolkowitz because of his race.
Jamil S. Hubbard, 26, reportedly attacked Wolkowitz as he was walking near his apartment, dragging him into a local parking lot and then running him over with his own Chevy Malibu, before stealing Hubbard’s Kia Forte. The brutal attack left Wolkowitz in a comatose state for months, landing him in long-term intensive care before he finally passed away this week from his injuries.
Police arrested Hubbard and charged him with attempted murder, possession of a weapon and bias intimidation. A grand jury eventually tacked on additional charges of armed robbery, eluding a theft. According to Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Keri-Leigh Schaefer, investigators determined Hubbard, who remains in jail pending his trial, had targeted Wolkowitz because he was white.
Wolkowitz, who was described as an “innocent soul” by friends, was the son of two Holocaust survivors, a freelance photojournalist and photographer, an EMT and ambulance supervisor and a life member of the Freehold First Aid and Rescue Squad.