Police: Newark Man Arrested for Striking Corrections Officer with Car

Authorities have arrested a 28-year-old Newark man just Saturday morning with his car and then fled the scene.

Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, said Keith Johnson was arrested Saturday afternoon and charged with aggravated assault, leaving the scene and failure to render aid — all third-degree offenses. She said Johnson also was charged with driving with a suspended license, a fourth-degree offense.

Johnson allegedly hit the officer, Victor Gomez, 40, near 133 Bloomfield Ave. around 4:30 a.m. As of Saturday night, Gomez was in critical condition at University Hospital in Newark, according to Carter.

A 1010 WINS radio report, citing Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio, states police apprehended the driver after colleagues who were with Gomez during the time of the incident pursued him. The report does not name Johnson.

It's unclear if the officer, who works at Northern State Prison in Newark, was crossing the street or was on the sidewalk when he was hit. The 1010 WINS story says the officer was struck while walking across Bloomfield Avenue, but authorities have not confirmed that account.

The scene Saturday around 10:30 a.m. showed little signs of an investigation — it lacked police tape, skid marks, car debris or blood. At the Bloomfield Avenue address is a blue-colored home near the corner of 4th Avenue.

Carter said Johnson is in Essex County jail in lieu of $75,000 bail.

— Lia Eustachewich contributed to this report.