FAIR LAWN - On many nights, Galina Okhotnitskaya and Sofia Berkovich strolled about their neighborhood, chatting with friends and admiring the flower gardens that decorated front lawns.

"She used to always walk with her friend," said Edward Gazarkh, Okhotnitskaya's grandson, on Thursday. "This time before she left, she said, 'I'm leaving,' and I didn't look up to see her face."

The women were crossing River Road at Hopper Avenue shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday when they were hit by a 1993 Mercury minivan traveling north, said Fair Lawn Traffic Officer Timothy Franco. There is a crosswalk at the intersection, but police were unsure whether the women were using it.

The driver, Carlos Lezameta-Benalcaz of Elmwood Park, stopped, Franco said. Drugs and alcohol were not involved, and police had not charged Lezameta-Benalcaz, 55, Franco said. An investigation was continuing.

Okhotnitskaya, 81, and Berkovich, 66, were taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson, where both were pronounced dead, Franco said.

Business owners and residents who frequently cross the street said such an accident was bound to happen. The intersection is dangerous and has been the site of several incidents, they said.

"When they said it was this corner, I was not surprised," said Gila Bretter, owner of The Moving Co. on River Road. "There is a need to put a traffic light. This is ridiculous."

Mayor David Ganz said the council has looked into installing a traffic light but that, under state guidelines, the 8,000 or so cars that travel the county road daily aren't enough to warrant one.

During the day Okhotnitskaya would go to an adult day-care center in Nutley, where she would spend time with others who spoke Russian and shared in her culture.

Berkovich also attended an adult day-care center, said those who knew her. She shopped at B&B International Deli, which sells Russian products, to buy cakes and other sweets to take to her friends at the center.

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