HOWELL, NJ – A Howell woman has been charged with hit and run after she struck and critically injured a 77-year-old borough resident on Freneau Avenue in Matawan in early March. The woman was found along the roadside when Matawan police arrived on the scene, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Jennifer B. Aretino, 36, of Citation Street in Howell, is charged with third degree leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision with serious bodily injury and numerous motor vehicle violations. She was charged this morning and released on a summons pending a future court date. That court date has not been scheduled.
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The Matawan Police Department responded to a 6:57 p.m. report of a body in the shoulder of the roadway in front of the Mediterranean Chateau located at 27 Freneau Ave. in the borough. Matawan Police arrived to find the female victim lying in the shoulder of the northbound lane of Freneau Ave. The victim was later identified as a 77-year-old Matawan resident. She was treated at the scene by Bayshore EMS and Hackensack Meridian ALS, then transported to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune Township where she remains hospitalized in stable condition.
The arrest comes after evidence collected at the scene by Matawan police officers led to the identification of the type of vehicle responsible for the incident. On Monday, March 29, a Matawan police officer conducted a routine motor vehicle stop about 4:19 p.m. on Main Street in Matawan. Aretino was identified as the driver of the hit and run vehicle.
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If convicted of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision with serious bodily injury, Arentino faces a sentence of three to five years in a New Jersey state prison.
The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Meghan Doyle.
Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.
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