Long Branch Woman Fatally Hit Man With Car, Then Drove Away, Prosecutor Says

LONG BRANCH, NJ — A Long Branch woman is accused of hitting a man with her car, killing him; she then fled the scene, said Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago.

Jennifer Perez-Martinez, 19, is charged with first-degree vehicular homicide and second-degree leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

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Police say she struck the pedestrian at 8:46 p.m. May 1, in the area of 258 Broadway in Long Branch. Police were called there for 911 calls of a car that hit a pedestrian.

The man, Armindo Vieira, 57, of West Long Branch, was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 9:38 p.m. that night.

The county prosecutor says Perez-Martinez was operating her vehicle while impaired in a designated school zone when she hit the man. He was hit while he was attempting to enter his parked vehicle on Broadway.

Police say Perez-Martinez then left the scene in her car.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor announced the criminal charges filed against Perez-Martinez this past Saturday, May 23.

The vehicular homicide investigation was done by the Long Branch Police Department, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Bureau Fatal Motor Vehicle Accident Unit and the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team.

Perez-Martinez is represented by defense attorney Matthew Jordan, with an office in Neptune Township.