Woman Caught Fire After 2 NJ Men Tossed Firework From Car: Prosecutor

BEACH HAVEN, NJ — Two men were charged after they tossed a lit firework out a car window that hit a pedestrian in Beach Haven, the Ocean Country Prosecutor's Office said.

Justin Liebhauser, 19, of Randolph, and Gianni Aveta, 18, of Wayne, were both charged with aggravated arson, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

On July 22, a 53-year-old woman told Beach Haven police that around 10:15 p.m., she was walking on Pennsylvania Avenue when she was hit by a firework that had been thrown from the passenger's side window of a Jeep Wrangler, Billhimer said.

The firework exploded, hitting the woman in the arm and rib area, causing her clothes to catch fire, Billhimer said.

Police contacted EMS and the woman was treated for second-degree burns to her arm, Billhimer said.

At about 11:30 p.m. that night, police stopped a Jeep Wrangler matching the description given by the victim, Billhimer said. Liebhauser was driving the Jeep, with Aveta and minors as passengers, he said.

Liebhauser had been driving the Jeep with Aveta and the minors earlier in the evening in the area of Pennsylvania Avenue, an investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and Beach Haven Police Department revealed.

Liebhauser handed a five-inch mortar shell firework to Aveta, who lit the firework and tossed it out the passenger side of the vehicle, hitting the woman, Billhimer said.

Both men were served with their charges via summons pending an upcoming first appearance in Ocean County Superior Court, Billhimer said.

Billhimer and Markoski acknowledged the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Beach Haven Police Department and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit for their collective assistance in connection with this investigation.