A cocaine-carrying driver who fled after his sedan struck and seriously injured a Lyndhurst pedestrian claimed he’d been carjacked moments earlier and wasn’t behind the wheel, authorities said.
It was all a lie, they said.
Samuel Torres, 38, of Nutley was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, hindering his arrest and drug-related offenses, records show.
Torres was driving a 2017 Toyota Camry when it struck Joy Dempsey, 56, at the corner of Grant and Valley Brook avenues near her home shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
She suffered a fractured hip, back injuries, and head trauma and remained in critical but stable condition Thursday at Hackensack University Medical Center.
Detectives recovered surveillance video from the area and other evidence collected by the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification, which helped identify the sedan and Torres.
Torres, who authorities said was carrying cocaine, was released pending a June 23 first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
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