A 20-year-old Trenton woman who authorities say had never possessed a driver’s license in any state has been charged with manslaughter after allegedly striking a mother and her two young children in the parking lot of NPGS in Jackson on Friday, killing an infant boy and injuring his mother and sister.
The child, Yitzchok Rosenberg, was approximately eight months old. He was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center following the crash but was tragically pronounced deceased.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer identified the driver as Maria CobonGuzman, 20, of Trenton. Prosecutors say she was operating a Ford Fusion when the vehicle struck the family shortly before noon Friday.
Jackson Township police officers were dispatched at approximately 11:55 a.m. to the NPGS grocery store on West County Line Road after receiving a report of a motor vehicle crash involving pedestrians. When officers arrived, they found that a mother and her two children — a five-year-old girl and an infant boy — had been struck in the parking lot.
The mother had been pushing a baby carriage carrying the two children when the Ford Fusion struck them, according to investigators. All three victims were transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. The infant was pronounced dead at the hospital, while his mother and five-year-old sister remained hospitalized in stable condition as of Shabbos afternoon.
Central Jersey Hatzolah and other emergency personnel responded to the horrific scene, and a Mass Casualty Incident was declared because of the number of victims and the severity of their injuries, according to frum media reports.
The public has been asked to continue davening for the injured mother and daughter, Chana Golda bas Leah Shaindel and Rochel bas Golda Chana.
The investigation quickly turned to the woman behind the wheel. Authorities determined that CobonGuzman did not merely lack a valid New Jersey license at the time of the crash; prosecutors allege that she had never been issued or possessed a valid driver’s license in New Jersey or anywhere else in the United States.
CobonGuzman has now been charged with manslaughter, operating a motor vehicle without ever having possessed or been issued a valid driver’s license while involved in a fatal motor vehicle crash, and two counts of assault by auto.
Authorities also arrested a second woman, Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, 22, of Toms River, over her alleged role in allowing CobonGuzman to get behind the wheel.
Investigators allege that Lazaro-Flores knew CobonGuzman had never possessed a valid driver’s license but nevertheless permitted her to operate the Ford Fusion. Lazaro-Flores was charged with knowingly engaging in conduct creating a substantial risk of death to another.
Both CobonGuzman and Lazaro-Flores were taken into custody and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where they were being held pending detention hearings.
The tragedy sent shockwaves through Jackson and the greater Lakewood community on Friday as word spread that a mother and two children had been critically injured outside the heavily frequented kosher supermarket.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad and High Tech Crime Squad are investigating the crash together with the Jackson Township Police Department, Lakewood Township Police Department and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.
Authorities have not publicly disclosed additional details about what caused CobonGuzman to strike the family or the precise circumstances under which she came to be driving the vehicle.
The investigation remains ongoing.
{Matzav.com}
