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BUSTED: Unlicensed Hit-Run Driver Returns After Seriously Injuring Pedestrian, Says Clifton PD BUSTED: Unlicensed Hit-Run Driver Returns After Seriously Injuring Pedestrian, Says Clifton PD
Busted: Unlicensed Hit-Run Driver Returns After Seriously Injuring Pedestrian, Says Clifton PD An unlicensed hit-and-run driver from Clifton who severely injured a pedestrian was arrested after returning to the scene, authorities said. Hector Pena-Morillo, 25, was driving a 2016 Dodge Durango that hit the 61-year-old pedestrian from Passaic as he crossed Lexington Avenue just around the corner from Clifton Fire Station #3 shortly after 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23, Detective Lt. Robert Bracken said. Firefighters and EMS tended to the victim, who remained in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson on Tuesday, the lieutenant said. Pena-Morillo was ch…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Police ID Victim, Hit-Run Driver In Carlstadt Accident Police ID Victim, Hit-Run Driver In Carlstadt Accident
Police ID Victim, Hit-Run Driver In Carlstadt Accident A 70-year-old waiter from Passaic has been charged in a Bergen County crash that left a 61-year-old pedestrian dead, authorities announced. Justinian Cuevasmetemi was behind the wheel  of a 2017 Toyota RAV-4 when he struck Deborah Peko-Lillis, of Secaucus, on Hoboken Road in Carlstadt around 10:20 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, then fled the scene, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Peko-Lillis of Secaucus was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center where she was pronounced dead as a result of the crash, Musella said. Cuevasmetemi was found Saturday, Jan. 21 and c…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Motorist From Waldwick Charged In DWI Hit-And-Run: Franklin Lakes PD Motorist From Waldwick Charged In DWI Hit-And-Run: Franklin Lakes PD
Motorist From Waldwick Charged In DWI Hit-And-Run: Franklin Lakes PD A motorist from Waldwick was intoxicated when police in Franklin Lakes found her and her disabled Jeep near the scene of a single-vehicle hit-and-run crash, authorities said. Andrea L. Wilkin, 44, was turning left onto Ewing Avenue from Franklin Lake Road when her 2021 Wrangler left the roadway and smashed into a curb shortly after 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, Capt. Mark McCombs said. Wilkin, who apparently wasn’t injured, drove her partially disabled vehicle off instead of waiting for police, the captain said on Monday, Jan. 16. The Jeep broke down up the road on George Street near Ramapo Hig…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Real Estate Agent Charged In Hit-And-Run Death Of Bergen Mother Of 5 UPDATE: Real Estate Agent Charged In Hit-And-Run Death Of Bergen Mother Of 5
Update: Real Estate Agent Charged In Hit-And-Run Death Of Bergen Mother Of 5 A 26-year-old real estate agent from Paterson was driving the hit-and-run sedan that struck and killed a Garfield mother of five outside her home, authorities confirmed. Victor E. Diaz Castenada was being held in the Bergen County Jail on Tuesday, Jan. 10, in connection with the death exactly a week earlier of Shazia Faazal, 51. Castenada was driving a 2010 Honda Civic that struck Faazal on Outwater Lane near Alaska Street at 8:51 p.m. Jan. 3 and kept going, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Witnesses said Faazal was dragged at least 50 feet. She was taken to Hackensack Univers…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Hudson Man, 24, Gets Mandatory 2½ Years In Prison In Hit-Run Death Of Fairview Dad Hudson Man, 24, Gets Mandatory 2½ Years In Prison In Hit-Run Death Of Fairview Dad
Hudson Man, 24, Gets Mandatory 2½ Years In Prison In Hit-Run Death Of Fairview Dad An unlicensed Jersey City driver must spend at least 2½ years in state prison for fleeing a pedestrian crash that killed a Fairview man. Danny Maiker Vasquez, 24, abandoned his father's minivan at the scene of the overnight crash on Broad Avenue near the North Bergen border that killed 39-year-old father of two Julius Smith shortly after 3:30 a.m. July 5, 2021. Smith was walking toward the 7-Eleven on Fairview Avenue along a stretch of road known locally as "Dead Man's Curve" when the 2008 Toyota Sienna mounted the sidewalk and struck him, authorities said at the time. Vasquez initially ke…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Back-To-Back Route 3 Crashes Send Three To Hospital UPDATE: Back-To-Back Route 3 Crashes Send Three To Hospital
Update: Back-To-Back Route 3 Crashes Send Three To Hospital Back-to-back crashes on eastbound Route 3 -- one of them a hit-and-run -- sent three people to the hospital, none with serious injuries, authorities said. It began, East Rutherford Police Chief D. Rivelli said, when a 2020 GMC stopped behind a disabled 2017 Acura RDX at the Berry's Creek bridge at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7. The GMC was struck from behind by a 2003 Honda Accord, pushing it into the Acura, the chief said. Officers were tending to the victims of that crash when the driver of a 2010 Toyota Prius swerved to avoid the scene and was rear-ended by an unknown vehicle tha…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Search Intensifies For Hit-And-Run Driver Who Killed Bergen Mother Of 5 UPDATE: Search Intensifies For Hit-And-Run Driver Who Killed Bergen Mother Of 5
Update: Search Intensifies For Hit-And-Run Driver Who Killed Bergen Mother Of 5 UPDATE: A 26-year-old real estate agent from Paterson was driving the hit-and-run sedan that struck and killed a Garfield mother of five outside her home, authorities confirmed. Victor E. Diaz Castenada was being held in the Bergen County Jail on Tuesday, Jan. 10, in connection with the death exactly a week earlier of Shazia Faazal, 51. CONTINUED HERE: Real Estate Agent Charged In Hit-And-Run Death Of Bergen Mother Of Five ****** PREVIOUS STORY: An anguished family continues to reel from the death of a beloved mother of five who was struck and dragged by a hit-and-run driver as she cross…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Garfield Mother Of Five, 51, Killed In Hit-And-Run Garfield Mother Of Five, 51, Killed In Hit-And-Run
Garfield Mother Of Five, 51, Killed In Hit-And-Run UPDATE: A 26-year-old real estate agent from Paterson was driving the hit-and-run sedan that struck and killed a Garfield mother of five outside her home, authorities confirmed. Victor E. Diaz Castenada was being held in the Bergen County Jail on Tuesday, Jan. 10, in connection with the death exactly a week earlier of Shazia Faazal, 51. CONTINUED HERE: Real Estate Agent Charged In Hit-And-Run Death Of Bergen Mother Of Five ****** PREVIOUS STORY: An anguished family continues to reel from the death of a beloved mother of five who was struck and dragged by a hit-and-run driver as she cross…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Driver Left Man For Dead In NJ Roadway Then Reported Car As Stolen: Police Driver Left Man For Dead In NJ Roadway Then Reported Car As Stolen: Police
Driver Left Man For Dead In NJ Roadway Then Reported Car As Stolen: Police Just hours after hitting a man with her car and leaving him for dead in the streets of New Jersey, the driver who police say was at fault registered her vehicle as stolen and spent months hiding from police. Chayla McCray, 22, of Avenel, was arrested and charged in the Aug. 29, 2022 death of 63-year-old Jose Bonilla on Dec. 29, police in Rahway said. McCray was behind the wheel of a dark-colored Nissan Altima when she struck Bonilla on St. George's and West Inman avenues around 3 a.m. Aug. 29, Rahway Police Director Jonathan Parham said. Bonilla was pronounced dead at the scene and, later …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Central Jersey Man, 36, Struck, Killed After Parking Lot Fight Central Jersey Man, 36, Struck, Killed After Parking Lot Fight
Central Jersey Man, 36, Struck, Killed After Parking Lot Fight A 36-year-old man from Middletown was struck by a car multiple times and killed after an argument in a parking lot, authorities said. Jason Freeman was killed in the incident at 5:05 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Acting Chief Donald Fritz, Jr., of the Old Bridge Police Department. Police received a 911 call reporting an altercation in the parking lot of 100 Perrine Road in Old Bridge, that resulted in a suspect getting in his vehicle and running over Freeman before fleeing, they said.  Freeman was pronoun…

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by Jon Craig
News
Vehicular Homicide: Rocklander Charged In 2021 Hit-Run That Killed Driver, 77, On GSP In Bergen Vehicular Homicide: Rocklander Charged In 2021 Hit-Run That Killed Driver, 77, On GSP In Bergen
Vehicular Homicide: Rocklander Charged In 2021 Hit-Run That Killed Driver, 77, On GSP In Bergen UPDATE: New Jersey State Police have arrested a Rockland County man who they said was responsible for a hit-and-run crash that killed a 77-year-old motorist on the Garden State Parkway a year and a half ago. Christopher Forrest, 26, was charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in the death of Dutchess County, NY, resident Howard Perlman on June 17, 2021, according to records obtained by Daily Voice. Forrest, of Spring Valley, was recklessly driving a BMW that clipped Perlman's Toyota Venza in the area of milepost 172.3 in Montvale shortly after 7 p.m., Stat…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
SEE ANYTHING? Pedestrian Struck, Injured By Hit-And-Run Driver In Lodi SEE ANYTHING? Pedestrian Struck, Injured By Hit-And-Run Driver In Lodi
SEE Anything? Pedestrian Struck, Injured By Hit-And-Run Driver In Lodi Lodi police were searching for an early-morning hit-and-run driver who sent a pedestrian from Paterson to the hospital. The 37-year-old victim was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center after being struck by a white sedan -- possibly a Chevy Malibu -- on Passaic Avenue near Home Place shortly before 6 a.m Thursday, Nov. 10, Sgt. Dominic Miller said. His injuries were considered minor, the sergeant said. The vehicle -- with the New York license plate KBT9924 -- headed north on Passaic Avenue, he said. ANYONE who might have witnessed the crash or has information that could help …

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by Jerry DeMarco