TOMS RIVER, NJ – The recent past of Geraldine Ambrosio, a candidate for mayor in Toms River, is catching up to her as she makes a run for mayor in Toms River. This week, it was reported that Ambrosio was involved in a hit-and-run crash in 2020 in Lacey Township and avoided police for at least 24 hours.
Today, it was made known to the public for the first time by a campaign that Ambrosio was charged in August 2020 for fleeing the scene of a traffic crash after leaving a party in Lacey Township.
According to the Lacey Township Police Department, Ambrosio was driving north on Brookdale Place in Lacey Township at around 10:17 pm on August 22, 2020. The incident was not reported to the public in the department’s August 2020 weekly police blotter reports.
While navigating a curve in the road, police said Ambrosio drove her gray 2016 Ford Fusion into a black 2014 GMC Sierra driven by a Forked River man. After a brief exchange with the victim, Ambrosio fled the scene.
According to the police report, upon arrival, police interviewed the victim, who described the hit-and-run driver as a “white heavy-set female with dark hair.”
The man told police the woman appeared to be anxious and only wanted to exchange information and did not want the police involved. Ambrosio handed the victim a business card and fled the scene. The man called the police, who began searching for Ambrosio. They were unable to locate her until hours later, according to a summons issued on August 24th, at a home on Brookdale Place.
She was accompanied by an unknown male passenger, according to the report. The victim told police the passenger appeared to be drunk and was pressuring Ambrosio to rush the matter before police arrived.
When police caught up to Ambrosio many hours later, she blamed the other driver, saying that he was driving at a high rate of speed and traveling near the center of the road, prompting her to swerve, into his vehicle, to avoid a collision.
Ambrosio told police she fled the scene because the police department took too long to respond and she had to go to the bathroom.
“She reported leaving the scene because this agency’s response time was too long, and the driver of the other vehicle would not exchange information with her,” the department said in a police report of the incident. “She added that the driver of the other vehicle became agitated and caused her to become nervous, which caused her irritable bowel syndrome to flare up.”
Police said Ambrosio claimed she fled the scene because she ‘feared she may have an embarrassing bowel movement on the scene’.
After catching Ambrosio more than 24 hours after the crash, police did not administer a breathalyzer test.
When asked by police why she did not notify police, Ambrosio said her cell phone had died. Police noted she had since charged her phone and still did not contact the Lacey Township Police Department.
She was charged with leaving the scene of a crash, failing to report an accident, and careless driving.
Ambrosio retained former Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato to defend her in court. Coronato, who lost to Toms River Mayor Mo Hill in the 2019 GOP primary election, was able to arrange a plea agreement for Ambrosio, who pleaded guilty instead to unsafe operation of a vehicle.
The charges of leaving the scene and failing to report were dropped.