Pedestrian 'Critical', Driver Charged In Toms River Crash: Police

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Lacey Township woman was hospitalized in critical condition after she was hit by an unlicensed driver on Hooper Avenue on Monday, Toms River police said Tuesday.

The driver, Roseann Macchiarelli, 52, of Seaside Heights, has been charged with causing injury while unlicensed and received a ticket for being an unlicensed driver, said Jillian Messina, media relations specialist for the Toms River Police Department. Macchiarelli was arrested on an active warrant, Messina said.

Jessica Descafano, 33, of the Forked River section of Lacey, was hit about 2:20 p.m. Monday as she crossed Hooper Avenue in the middle of the block, north of Washington Street.

Descafano was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune due to the extent of her injuries and was listed in critical, but stable, condition, Messina said.

Toms River Police Officers Bob Westfall and Ryan Fitzgerald of the traffic safety division are investigating. The Ocean County Sheriff’s Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s office assisted at the scene, she said.