Essex Fells Police Charge Driver from Bayonne After Hit-and-Run Incident

ESSEX FELLS, NJ –Essex Fells police arrested a Bayonne resident after a hit-and-run incident in the borough last weekend.

At about 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 1, Officer Gonzalez was flagged down by a concerned resident and made aware of a vehicle on Forest Way with significant front-end damage. Gonzalez located the vehicle on Roseland Avenue and conducted a motor vehicle stop on Oak Lane.

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Police said that the driver, a 30-year-old male from Bayonne, denied having been in an accident and stated the damage was from a prior date.  Gonzalez detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from the driver’s breath and he showed several signs consistent with someone who was under the influence of alcohol.

A short time later, dispatch advised Officer Rigas of a hit-and-run accident that had occurred on Eagle Rock Avenue near Forest Way.  The vehicle that had fled matched the description of the vehicle that Gonzalez had stopped.

While Gonzalez was waiting for his backup to arrive, the driver fled the traffic stop at a high rate of speed before crashing on the front lawn of a residence on Brookside Avenue.  Gonzalez placed the driver under arrest, and he was transported back to police headquarters for processing.  The suspect was charged with second-degree eluding, fourth-degree assault by auto and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

In addition, he was issued motor vehicle summonses for driving under the influence, refusal to submit to a breath test, reckless driving, careless driving, failure to report an accident and leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage.  The defendant also had an active criminal warrant out of Bayonne.

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He was remanded to the Essex County Correctional Facility pending a future court date.

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