By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Ocean County announced that Mark Carey, Jr., 19, of South Amboy, has been charged with Knowingly Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident Resulting in the Death of Another in connection with a fatal hit and run crash that occurred on January 13, 2024, at approximately 9:15 a.m., in the area of Route 35 South and Bay Avenue in Brick Township.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Carey was charged with the motor vehicle offenses of Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury or Death, Failing to Report an Accident, Reckless Driving, Careless Driving, and Failure to Maintain Lane of Travel, all relative to the same incident.
Officials stated that on January 13, 2024, at approximately 9:15 a.m., officers from the Brick Township Police Department responded to the area of Route 35 South and Bay Avenue for a hit-and-run collision involving a pedestrian.
Responding Officers discovered that a vehicle had struck a female pedestrian in the shoulder of the roadway and then fled the scene, officials said.
Authorities say the victim was taken to Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center in Brick Township, where she was pronounced deceased.
A thorough and extensive investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Brick Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit determined that the vehicle that struck and killed the victim was a 1999 Ford Explorer registered to Carey.
According to officials, further investigation identified Carey as the individual who operated the subject Ford Explorer at the time of the crash that resulted in the victim’s death.
Officials said Carey was taken into custody at his home in South Amboy without incident and, after that, processed at Brick Township Police Headquarters.
Carey was subsequently transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he presently remains lodged pending a detention hearing, officials say.