Belle Mead Man Faces Additional Charge Following Fatal Raritan Crash

Authorities say the 18-year-old is charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death

RARITAN BOROUGH — An 18-year-old Belle Mead man is facing two second-degree charges in connection with a fatal crash at the intersection of Route 202 and First Avenue in Raritan Borough.

The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office initially announced that the man had been charged with second-degree vehicular homicide following the Monday, July 27 crash. Prosecutors announced the following day that an additional charge of second-degree leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death had been filed.

According to authorities, Raritan Borough police responded to the intersection at approximately 6:29 a.m. and found a crash involving a Genesis SUV and an Acura SUV.

Investigators allege that the driver of the Genesis entered the intersection against a red light and struck the driver’s side of the Acura. The Acura’s driver, a woman from Bridgewater, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities allege that the Genesis driver left the scene on foot following the collision. He was subsequently located and apprehended by Raritan Borough police officers and transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office also reported that investigators received multiple accounts of the Genesis being driven erratically before the collision, including reports that the vehicle was traveling in the wrong direction on Route 202 at times.

Members of the Somerset County Collision Analysis Reconstruction Team, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Raritan Borough Police Department responded to investigate. Investigators from the Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office also responded to the scene.

The investigation remains ongoing pending the findings of the collision reconstruction team.

The defendant was served with the initial complaint while hospitalized. Authorities said he would be lodged in the Somerset County Jail following his release from the hospital, pending a court hearing.

Anyone with information concerning the crash is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office at 908-231-7100 or the Raritan Borough Police Department at 908-725-6700.

Information may also be submitted anonymously through the STOPit app using the access code SOMERSETNJ, the Somerset County Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS or SCPO.TIPS.

Photo Credit: Daniel Tadevosyan/shutterstock.com