Lakewood Pedestrian Hit, Killed By Unlicensed Driver: Officials

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A Lakewood man is being held in jail on charges of driving without license after he struck and killed a pedestrian on Route 88 Thursday night, Lakewood police said Friday.

Lucas Rodriguez De La Rosa, 53, of Lakewood, was hit on Route 88 near Clover Street shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday, Lakewood Detective Lt. Gregory Staffordsmith said. De La Rosa was taken to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood but succumbed to his injuries, he said. De La Rosa was pronounced dead at 10:37 p.m., said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office

Juan Soriano-Ramirez, 24, also of Lakewood, told police he was driving east on Route 88 in a 2002 Dodge Stratus looking for the entrance to a local business and when he realized the business was close, he turned his head back to the road and De La Rosa was right in front of him, Staffordsmith said. Ramirez was unable to avoid him, Staffordsmith said.

Soriano-Ramirez did not have a license, Della Fave said. He was arrested and charged with causing death while operating a motor vehicle with a suspended driver's license. He is being held in the Ocean County Jail, Toms River.

The Lakewood Police Department Traffic Safety Unit, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, and the Ocean County Sheriff's Department CSI Unit investigated at the scene, Staffordsmith said, and the investigation is continuing and more charges may be filed, he said.

Anyone with information on the accident is asked to contact the Lakewood Police Department or the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Note: Soriano-Ramirez's legal status is not known. An earlier version of the article incorrectly attributed a statement saying otherwise to Della Fave due to a misunderstanding. Patch regrets the error.

Juan Soriano-Ramirez photo via Ocean County Corrections Department