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Suspect in Fatal Williamsburg Hit-Run Surrenders in Pennsylvania

By  Murray Weiss Julie  Shapiro and Ben Fractenberg | March 6, 2013 6:02pm | Updated on March 6, 2013 6:51pm

NEW YORK — The convicted killer who is accused of causing the horrific Williamsburg hit-run crash that killed a young Hasidic couple and their unborn son turned himself in in Pennsylvania Wednesday afternoon, sources said.

Julio Acevedo, 44, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident after he allegedly plowed into a livery cab carrying pregnant Raizy Glauber and her husband, Nachman Glauber, both 21, early Sunday morning on Kent Avenue near Wilson Street, and then fled the scene before police arrived, the NYPD said.

Police had been searching for Acevedo since then and had recently tracked him to Pennsylvania, where the NYPD believed he was staying, sources said.

On Wednesday, a friend of Acevedo's arranged for police to pick him up in the parking lot at the Turkey Hill Minit Market in Behlehem, Pa. about 5:10 p.m., sources said.

Acevedo — who was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, a black hat and red and black sneakers — was taken to Pennsylvania State Police barracks and was slated to appear before a local judge, sources said. The NYPD's Brooklyn North Violent Felony Squad, the Regional Fugitive Task Force and the US Marshals were all involved in the arrest.

It was not immediately clear whether Acevedo would face any charges in addition to leaving the scene of an accident.

“Plans are underway now to extradite him to New York in connection with the car crash that took the lives of the young couple and their child,” said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne, according to the Daily News.

Acevedo's capture came as a relief to Williamsburg's tight-knit religious Jewish community, which was rocked by the fatal crash.

"We hope he will get the justice he deserves," said Gary Schlesinger, a relative of the Glaubers and a community leader in South Williamsburg.

"Hopefully this is going to put some closure to the tragedy…. The pain is still there, but it puts some closure to it."

Yoely Weiss, 22, who lives a few blocks from the young couple in Williamsburg, said he was glad Acevedo had been arrested, but it would take a long time for the community to recover.

"Even though he turned himself in, this will not change the situation," Weiss said. "Nothing will bring them back."

Joel Moskowitz, 25, another resident, added, "It's a good thing he's not goign to be able to hit anyone else."

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters earlier Wednesday that the NYPD was turning up the heat on Acevedo, who had been promising in media interviews and through friends that he planned to turn himself in.

"We don't know if this a game or what," Kelly told reporters. "We are actively looking for him. We are not waiting for him to turn himself in."

Acevedo had reportedly said he was fleeing gunshots when he crashed into the Glaubers' livery cab, but Kelly questioned the claim Wednesday.

"There are no reports of gunshots in the area at that time," Kelly said. "There were reports in Brooklyn North, which is the borough command for us, far away from that location and not anywhere near the time of the accident."

Acevedo had many previous arrests including a 1987 manslaughter conviction, sources said.

Just two weeks before Sunday's fatal crash, Acevedo was arrested for a DWI, but he was released without bail and was allowed to keep his driver's license pending a trial, sources said.

With reporting by Meredith Hoffman