Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Chief Stephen J. Rizco of the Highland Park Police Department announced today that a 6-year-old boy was killed and his mother was injured when a car jumped a curb and struck the pair as they walked on a sidewalk.
Shang Zhen Huang, 21, of Piscataway was being held in lieu of $200,000 bail after he was charged with two counts of aggravated assault for striking the pair on Raritan Avenue near the Columbia Avenue intersection in Highland Park at 3:10 p.m. on January 16, 2016.
The child, identified as Chaim Kraus, and his mother, whose name is being withheld, were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where the youngster was pronounced dead at 3:39 p.m.
The 37-year-old mother remained in critical condition at the hospital.
The defendant also was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries before being released to police.
An investigation by Detective Donald Heck of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and Officer Jose Curbelo of the Highland Park Police Department determined that the defendant was heading north on Raritan Avenue toward Edison, when his 2013 Lexus jumped the curb and hit the two victims.
The investigation is active and is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Heck of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3300, or Officer Curbelo of the Highland Park Police Department at (732) 572-3800.