In New Jersey and around the country, St. Patrick’s Day is a time for celebration and revelry. Unfortunately, that revelry turned to tragedy for two families from Branchville last month, when a hit-and-run driver allegedly struck two women, killing one of them and injuring the other.
The women, along with their husbands, were leaving an American Legion dinner-dance to celebrate the holiday when they were crossing the Route 206 on foot at about 10:30 in the evening, at which time the car accident occurred. Officials say the driver of the vehicle stopped to get out of his car to examine the damage, but then got back in and drove off.
A man was charged with several crimes involving the accident when he turned himself in to police the following day. He is facing assault by auto and two charges involving leaving the scene of an accident. The 44-year-old woman who was killed in the crash was pronounced dead at the scene. The other victim, a 55-year-old woman, was hospitalized with leg injuries.
The man was booked into the county jail after he surrendered to New Jersey State Police; he was subsequently released a few hours later after posting bail in the amount of $50,000. It wasn’t immediately clear if he would choose to plead guilty to the charges or if he would contest them.
In any case, one family is facing unexpected hospital bills, while another is dealing with the loss of a loved one. It remains to be seen what kind of civil action the families might choose to take in order to attempt to recover compensation for their losses and injuries.
Source: The Star-Ledger, “Pa. man charged in hit-and-run accident that killed one woman, injured second,” Joe Moszczynski, March 17, 2014