Alleged Short Hills Mall Shoplifter Pleads Guilty To Fatal Crash

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A 31-year-old motorist accused of fatally striking a bicyclist in Newark and leaving the scene pleaded guilty to her role in the crash Tuesday. She was apprehended after authorities allegedly caught her shoplifting at the Mall At Short Hills, prosecutors say.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, authorities arrested Nicole Hines, 31, of Newark, for allegedly shoplifting at the Mall At Short Hills in July 2017. Upon her arrest, police learned that Hines was wanted in connection with a hit-and-run that took place on Rose Street in Newark a month earlier.

Prosecutors allege that Hines – who was driving with a suspended license – hit Rodney Stroughn, 49, of Newark, with a rented Chevrolet Trailblazer as he was riding his bicycle on Rose Street on June 7, 2017.

Stroughn died from his injuries; the vehicle was disabled in the crash, prosecutors said.

After the crash, Hines and her two passengers allegedly abandoned the car on Littleton Avenue in Newark and fled the scene, prosecutors said.

Law enforcement later linked Hines to the crime and obtained an arrest warrant, but efforts to execute the warrant were “unsuccessful” until the mall shoplifting arrest, prosecutors stated.

On Tuesday, Hines pleaded guilty to death by auto and leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death. She also admitted operating a vehicle “well over the posted speed limit of 25 mph” on the day of the fatal crash, prosecutors said.

In exchange for her guilty plea, the state recommended a five-year prison sentence, of which Hines must serve 85 percent before she is eligible for parole, prosecutors said. She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 21.

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