Hackensack—Known to Shalom Yeladim students as Morah Lizzie and Morah Becca, Elizabeth Wolthoff, 23, and Rebecca Winslow, 25, both of Bergenfield, miraculously survived a shocking car accident late last week as Wolthoff’s car swerved away from a truck on Route 80’s Hackensack River Bridge. Her Toyota RAV4 went airborne as they hit a snow bank on the shoulder that acted as a ramp, sending the car over the side of the bridge. The car landed upright about 40 feet from the frozen river after falling 60 feet from the bridge.

Both women were cut from the car by firefighters and sustained back and neck injuries. They were alert and coherent as they were transferred to Hackensack University Medical Center.

The Shalom Yeladim Early Childhood Center, which offers a Hebrew-immersion daycare experience in Teaneck, Tenafly and Manhattan, has set up a fund for the two women, with the aim of ensuring that their recovery is as swift and comprehensive as possible, both during their hospital stays and afterwards.

“There is a very long road ahead for both Becca and Lizzie. They have been taking care of our children with such devotion and love, and have shared their many talents for the benefit of us all. Now it’s our turn to embrace and take care of them,” the group said on its fundraising page. At press time, the group had raised more than $8,000 of its $15,000 stated goal.

Learn more at http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/help-elizabeth-wolthoff-and-rebecca-winslow-recover/307868#.VOJUEFnFcdJ.facebook.

By Elizabeth Kratz