Man Picked Up Driver After Fatal Crash, Drove Him Home, Ocean County Prosecutor Says

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A Lakewood man is accused of helping a driver flee and then hide from authorities after a fatal crash in Lakewood on July 22, authorities said.

Emmanuel Rodriguez-Galindo, 36, has been charged with hindering the apprehension of another and obstruction of justice in connection with the actions of Angel A. Garcia-Rodriguez, 26, following the crash on James Street, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Garcia-Rodriguez, 26, has been charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash resulting in a death and endangering an injured victim after the crash that was reported about 2:25 a.m. July 22, Billhimer said.

Lakewood police found a 2007 Honda Civic that had hit a utility pole, and a man in the passenger seat who was critically injured, with the driver nowhere to be found, he said.

The passenger was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he later died of his injuries, Billhimer said. He has not been identified. Read more: Man Fled Lakewood Crash That Killed His Passenger: Prosecutor

Authorities determined Garcia-Rodriguez was the driver and arrested him at his home, Billhimer said.

Investigators also determined Rodriguez-Galindo picked up Garcia-Rodriguez after the crash and drove him home, to help Garcia-Rodriguez avoid arrest, Billhimer said. In addition, authorities say Rodriguez-Galindo knowingly concealed the whereabouts of Garcia-Rodriguez from law enforcement Officers, Billhimer said.

Rodriguez-Galindo was arrested Thursday and he is being held at the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Garcia-Rodriguez, who was taken to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood and a court-authorized sample of his blood taken, also remains in the Ocean County Jail, pending a detention hearing.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department and its Detective Bureau, Toms River Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, combined on the investigation.