South Jersey Man Who Left Scene Of Crash That Killed Passenger Sentenced: Prosecutors

An Ocean County man will spend time in prison after admitting to leaving the scene of a crash that killed his passenger, authorities said.

Angel Garcia-Rodriguez, 26, of Lakewood, was sentenced on Friday, May 3 to five years in state prison, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced in a news release. He pleaded guilty on Friday, Mar. 8 to leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash resulting in a death.

Lakewood police responded to a crash on James Street at around 2:25 a.m. on Friday, July 22, 2023. Officers found a 2007 Honda Civic hit a utility pole and the driver had left the scene.

An unidentified man was critically injured in the passenger seat. He was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Investigators said Garcia-Rodriguez was driving the Honda west on James Street when he lost control of the car and struck the pole on the passenger side door. He was eventually found at a home in Lakewood and arrested.

Prosecutors also said 36-year-old Emmanuel Rodriguez-Galindo of Lakewood picked up Garcia-Rodriguez and took him to his home to avoid being arrested. Rodriguez-Galindo was charged with obstruction of justice.

Garcia-Rodriguez has been held in the Ocean County Jail since his arrest.