TOMS RIVER, NJ – Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer has announced the sentencing of 18-year-old Yesmin Sanchez-Centeno of Toms River. On March 25, 2024, Sanchez-Centeno received a 20-month sentence to the Juvenile Justice Commission from Judge Sean D. Gertner, J.S.C., following guilty pleas for Knowingly Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Death and Strict Liability Vehicular Homicide. These charges stem from a fatal crash in Manchester Township on August 3, 2023.
Sanchez-Centeno, who was a juvenile at the time of the incident, was also found guilty of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, leading to a two-year suspension of his driving privileges in addition to mandatory fines and penalties. The accident involved a collision between a blue 2007 Yamaha Motorcycle, driven by 23-year-old Jeffrey Schlinger of Toms River, and a 2005 Nissan Murano driven by Sanchez-Centeno.
The crash resulted in Schlinger sustaining severe injuries, to which he later succumbed at Community Medical Center in Toms River. Following the incident, Sanchez-Centeno fled the scene but was found hiding in a nearby wooded area by Manchester Township Police Officers. Since then, he has been detained at a Juvenile Detention Center.