North brunswick man charged in deadly hit and run

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – A North Brunswick resident has been charged in connection with a fatal hit and run that left a pedestrian dead in New Brunswick late Saturday night, authorities announced.

According to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and New Brunswick Police Chief Vincent Sabo, Juan Martinez-Gaspar, 41, was arrested and charged with second-degree leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

On May 24 at approximately 10:41 p.m., New Brunswick Police responded to the intersection of Lee Street and Suydam Street following a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle. Officers arrived to find Elvia Gavarrete, 48, of New Brunswick, with serious injuries. She was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

An investigation by Officer Mark Smith of the New Brunswick Police Department and Detective Shadi Zaiton of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office determined that Martinez-Gaspar struck Gavarrete with a pickup truck and then fled the scene.

Vehicle located with damage consistent with pedestrian strike

Authorities later located the suspect’s pickup truck with visible damage consistent with a pedestrian crash. Martinez-Gaspar was arrested without incident following the discovery.

Anyone with information or surveillance footage from the area of the incident is asked to contact New Brunswick Police Officer Mark Smith at 732-745-5005 or Prosecutor’s Office Detective Shadi Zaiton at 732-745-4263.

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