Teen Arrested in Fatal Route 35 Hit-and-Run

Mark Carey, Jr. (Photo: Ocean County Jail)

A 19-year-old has been charged with numerous offenses, the most serious of which is knowingly leaving the scene of an accident resulting in the death of another person, for a hit-and-run accident over the weekend that took the life of a pedestrian on Route 35.

Mark Carey, Jr., 19, of South Amboy, is presently being held in the Ocean County Jail.

The accident occurred at about 9:15 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 13 in the area of Route 35 South and Bay Avenue in the township barrier island portion. Police announced the arrest Monday morning after releasing photos of the suspect’s vehicle, an older Ford Explorer SUV. After receiving a call about an accident, responding officers discovered that a vehicle had struck a female pedestrian in the shoulder of the roadway and then fled the scene. The victim was taken to Hackensack-Meridian Ocean University Medical Center in Brick Township, where she was pronounced deceased.

---

Get Daily Island News Updates Your email address:* Please enter all required fields Correct invalid entries

The victim’s name has not been announced publicly.

An investigation by township police, the county prosecutor’s office and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office CSI Unit determined that the vehicle which struck and killed the victim was a 1999 Ford Explorer registered to Carey, a statement Monday morning said.

Further investigation “identified Carey as the individual who operated the subject Ford Explorer at the time of the crash” that resulted in the victim’s death, police said. Carey was taken into custody at his home in South Amboy without incident, and thereafter processed at Brick Township Police Headquarters. Carey was then transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he presently remains lodged pending a detention hearing.

In addition to the major charge, Carey is also facing a slew of motor vehicle charges, including leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in serious bodily injury or death, failing to report an accident, reckless driving, careless driving, and failure to maintain lane of travel.