Excellent Police Work Captures Hit-N-Run Driver
On Sunday at 3:07 pm, South Brunswick Police responded to Ridge Road near Docks Corner Road for a report of a bicyclist down on the side of the road. Arriving officers found a 51-year-old Edison man on the side of the road bleeding profusely from his head. The man had no recollection of how he ended up off his bicycle. No witness saw the incident.
Sergeant Michael Leung arrived and began speaking with the victim. Sergeant Leung observed a broken passenger side view mirror and some other debris on the shoulder of the roadway. Sgt. Leung believed that, based on the items in the area, this victim had been struck by a car that was traveling westbound. EMS and paramedics transported the victim to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
At headquarters, Sgt Leung attempted to trace part numbers for the items found in the roadway. One of the items, a trim piece, he was able to identify as coming from a 2008 -2013 Toyota Corolla. He then had the officers who were working check their Axon Automatic License Plate Reader System (ALPRS), which every police car has. Officer Jason Stonkus checked his ALPRS and observed that a 2009 Toyota Corolla had passed him just after the crash. The Corolla was missing a side mirror and had damage to the front bumper. The vehicle came back registered to a home in Lawrence Township. South Brunswick Police coordinated with Lawrence Police and went to the registered owner’s home.
The owner of the vehicle, Carlos Romero-Garcia, age 40, was determined to have been the driver of the car that struck the bicyclist. The vehicle was recovered from a garage located in a different part of Lawrence Township. Romero-Garcia was arrested and charged with Leaving the Scene of an Accident with Serious Bodily Injury, Endangering an Injured Victim, and Assault by Auto.
Chief Raymond Hayducka said, “This is excellent police work. The victim had no idea what had happened, there were no witnesses, and only a few items of debris. Sergeant Leung pieced everything together from one piece of car trim left in the roadway. Officer Stonkus located the vehicle on his ALPRS. The officers' quick work tracked down the driver responsible in less than 5 hours. This is great police work!”
The bicyclist suffered serious injuries but has been released from the hospital and is recovering.
