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NJ Driver Bailed In Crash That Left Passenger Dead: Prosecutor

A 26-year-old man has been arrested for leaving the scene of a crash that left his passenger dead in Ocean County, authorities said.

Angel Garcia-Rodriguez

Angel Garcia-Rodriguez

Photo Credit: Ocean County Jail

Angel Garcia-Rodriguez, 26, of Lakewood, was behind the wheel of a 2007 Honda Civic when he lost control and struck a utility pole on James Street around 2:25 a.m. Saturday, July 22, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Officers found a critically injured male in the passenger seat of the vehicle. He was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he died, Billhimer said.

Garcia-Rodriguez fled the scene before police arrived, but was found at a Lakewood home and arrested without incident, the prosecutor said.

He was taken to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, where a court-authorized sample of his blood was taken. Garcia-Rodriguez was then transported to the Ocean County Jail, and charged with Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Crash Resulting in a Death, as well as Endangering an Injured Victim,

Billhimer acknowledges the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Lakewood Township Police Department, Toms River Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their combined assistance in connection with this investigation.

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