Police are searching for a suspect who allegedly hit a 16 year old boy in Wildwood over 4th of July weekend.
The incident occurred around 3 a.m. Saturday night on Rio Grande Ave. The victim, whose name has not been released, was hit by the passenger side, side-view mirror which gave him a serious head injury and knocked him unconscious in the street. The casing for the mirror was knocked off during the impact and was found in the street by the police.
If apprehended by the police, the driver could be charged with assault by auto. The penalties for this crime vary depending on the degree a person is charged with. The degree is determined based on a variety of factors such as the seriousness of the injury, whether the person driving hit the victim intentionally or hit him while driving recklessly, and if the driver was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If the injury is serious enough and the driver was in violation of N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 or 39:4-50.4a (Driving While Intoxicated), the suspect could be charged with second degree assault by auto. This is punishable by 5 to 10 years in NJ State Prison.
For further information on this case, please access the nj.com article entitled “Teen boy seriously injured in Wildwood hit-and-run; police search for driver.”
