Woman Jailed In Fatal Lakewood Christmas Hit-And-Run: Prosecutor

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A woman wanted in connection with a hit-and-run crash that killed a Lakewood man on Christmas has been arrested nearly six months after the incident, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato said.

Sandra Denise Brown, 46, of Jackson, was arrested Monday, June 11 in Seaside Heights by the U.S. Marshal's Service. She has been charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash resulting in death, Coronato said.

Roger Conover, 45, of Lakewood, was killed on Christmas when he was hit on Cedar Bridge Road just west of Martin Luther King Drive about 7:30 p.m., said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor's office.

Conover, who was crossing the street, was hit first by a 1997 Nissan Maxima, and then a second time by a 2017 Toyota Sienna, Lakewood Police Detective Lt. Gregory Staffordsmith said at the time. The Nissan, which was eastbound on Cedar Bridge, left the scene, Della Fave said.

Conover was treated at scene for severe head injuries and taken to Monmouth Medical Southern Campus in Lakewood, where he succumbed to his injuries, Della Fave said.

The Major Crimes Fatal Accident Investigations unit from the prosecutor's office and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department CSI responded and while they were processing the scene, Lakewood Patrolman Alexander Guzman found the Nissan suspected of hitting Conover on John Street, just off Martin Luther King Drive. The Nissan had damage to the front driver side windshield and physical evidence indicating the recent pedestrian strike, Della Fave said.

The subsequent investigation found Brown to be the driver at the time of the accident, he said

Detective Brant Uricks of the prosecutor's office contacted Brown and asked her to surrender herself to answer the charge, but she failed to do so, Della Fave said.

At 6:30 a.m. on June 11, however, members of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department’s Warrants Unit and the U.S. Marshal Service found Brown and arrested her in Seaside Heights, he said. She is being held at the Ocean County Jail.

Sandra Brown photo via Ocean County Corrections Department