Expectant parents killed in car crash on way to hospital, baby survives

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A midnight car crash in New York killed two expectant parents who were heading to the hospital. But the baby was rescued by cesarean section and is in critical condition, police say.

Nathan and Raizy Gluber, both 21, were riding in a livery cab in Brooklyn. Another car, a BMW, crashed into the cab at an intersection, slamming into its side, at about 12:10 a.m. Sunday.

The two occupants of the BMW fled the scene on foot and are being sought by police.

The driver of the cab, a Toyota Corolla, was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition, police say.

The Glubers were soon pronounced dead at two different hospitals, said Sgt. Tom Antonetti, a police spokesman.

Bellevue Hospital performed a C-section to rescue the baby.

At the time of the crash, the couple was "heading to Long Island College Hospital for a wellness check," said Officer Sophia Tassy-Mason, a spokeswoman for the New York City Police Department.

They had been married for less than a year, said Barry Sekete, a cousin of one of the victims.

"It's terrible," he told CNN affiliate New York 1. "They're...not even married a year and you know they're going in to the happiest times, to have a baby, and that's what happens. Terrible."

The crash brought heartache to the Hasidic community.

The young Orthodox Jewish couple was "preparing for the most joyous moment in life, to become parents, ready to build a castle to the future and build a family," said Isaac Abraham, a community leader and neighbor of the couple.

The community is working to make sure the baby boy gets all the medical attention he needs, Abraham said.

The child will be taken care of by family, friends, and the community, he said.

"The message to the driver: We know law enforcement is going to get to you," Abraham to CNN affliate WABC. "But our message is give yourself up before we find you."

Investigators were talking with the car's registered owner on Sunday, Tassy-Mason said. Tassy-Mason said she did not know whether the vehicle had been stolen or what the relationship was between the car's owner and its occupants.