Driver Charged In Fatal Hit-And-Run Had Multiple Suspensions

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A Toms River man who's charged in a hit-and-run crash that killed a Lakewood teenager had his license suspended five times in the last 15 years and has a history of unsafe driving, state records show.

Alexander V. Politan, 31, who remains in the Ocean County Jail in connection with the death of Jesús López Grande, 15, of Lakewood, repeatedly had his driving privileges suspended for failure to appear in court, according to driving records released by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.

Authorities allege Politan was driving a black 2014 Jeep Cherokee when he hit López Grande and his father, Jesús López Ramirez, 37, as they walked along the shoulder of Oak Street about 9:20 p.m. Oct. 4. López Grande was walking home from his job at Dunkin Donuts, according to an Asbury Park Press report.

Politan was arrested Oct. 8 and has been charged with causing the death of another while driving with a suspended license and knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death.

López Grande was found lying face down in the driveway of a home on Oak Street and died at the scene. His father suffered an elbow injury, authorities said.

Police found vehicle debris at the scene and were able to determine the parts belonged to a black 2014 Jeep Cherokee, authorities said. After a two-day search, a black Jeep Cherokee with damage consistent with the crash was found parked at a New Hampshire Avenue home in Toms River and was seized. Politan was arrested two days later.

According to state records, Politan's driving privileges were suspended Sept. 18 because he failed to appear in court in Neptune City on a summons he received Dec. 8, 2018 for delaying traffic. It is the seventh time where "failure to appear" is listed on his driver's record.

Politan, who received his first motor vehicle summons at age 15 for carrying a passenger on a moped, does not have any summonses for driving while impaired. He does, however, have repeated instances of summonses for careless or dangerous driving, including following too closely, unsafe operation of a motor vehicle and failure to obey a traffic signal, the records show.

Among the summonses and suspensions:

• Oct. 30, 2008: Summons for careless driving in a crash in Eatontown. The crash happened just eight days after his driving privileges were restored after a suspension for failing to appear in court in Neptune.
• Oct. 7, 2009: Cited for having an unsafe vehicle in a crash in Neptune Township.
• July 29, 2011: Politan's driving privileges were restored, though it's not clear when they were suspended. He had two citations for failure to appear and summonses for unsafe operation of a motor vehicle (Oct. 22, 2010 in Neptune Township), and for careless driving (Oct. 11, 2010 in Mansfield, Burlington County) prior to that restoration of privileges.
• Dec. 22, 2011: Court-ordered suspension for failure to appear in Neptune City. That suspension was lifted Sept. 19, 2013.
• Nov. 20, 2013: Court-ordered suspension for failure to appear in Neptune Township. That suspension was lifted April 30, 2015.

His driving privileges also were suspended in February 2008 for failure to pay an insurance surcharge — a surcharge that resulted from a June 2007 crash where Politan received a summons for following too closely.

There is a three-year period, from April 24, 2015, through April 2018, where the only activity on Politan's driving record was point credits for safe driving.

But late last year, he received three summonses in a 60-day period:

• Oct. 15, 2018: Summons for failure to obey a directional signal, in Eatontown.
• Oct. 17, 2018: Summons for improper turn on a green arrow/traffic control, in Neptune Township.
• Dec. 8, 2018: Summons for delaying traffic in Neptune City.

Politan was cited on two occasions — on June 29, 2019 in Little Egg Harbor and on Sept. 1, 2015 in Asbury Park — for not having a license, registration or insurance with him, though it's not clear from the summons whether he lacked only the license or more than one document.

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