Woman Enters Plea In DWI Crash That Killed Popular Restaurant Owner In Ocean County

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Seaside Park woman has pleaded guilty in a drunken driving crash that killed a beloved Ocean County restaurant owner and fishing icon in 2024.

Genell A. McInaw, 51, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide on Monday before Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer in the Sept. 23, 2024 crash in Seaside Heights that killed Robert "Bob" Popovics, 75, the prosecutor's office said.

Seaside Heights police were called to the area of Dupont Avenue and the Boulevard about 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 23 for a report of a man lying in the road and found the man, later identified as Popovics, unconscious with serious injuries, the prosecutor's office said.

McInaw was arrested and initially charged that night.

Popovics, owner of Shady Rest restaurant on Route 9 in Bayville and a well-known saltwater fly fisherman and fly tier, was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. He died Nov. 1, after being transferred from the hospital to hospice care. Read more: Bayville Restaurant Owner, Fishing Icon, Dies After Hit-And-Run

Popovics had just left Klee's and was crossing the Boulevard when he was hit at 9:28 p.m., according to the probable cause affidavit. Police responded three minutes later and Popovics was flown to the hospital. A review of the security footage at Klee's showed a gray sedan going south and hitting him, the affidavit said.

Police then looked at surveillance cameras in the area and found the gray sedan in the parking lot at Hooks, and a woman getting in and driving out of the parking lot two minutes before Popovics was hit, the affidavit said.

The investigation led them to McInaw, who had been an employee at Shady Rest. Detectives determined that over the course of about six hours Mcinaw had consumed nine alcoholic drinks, including two beers and two "cherry bombs" between 8:40 p.m. and 9:16 p.m., shortly before hitting Popovics, according to the affidavit.

When police went to Mcinaw's home in Seaside Park, they found the car with circular damage to the windshield on the driver's side. When they spoke to Mcinaw, she admitted knowing she'd hit someone.

"She started to say 'I know ...' and Detective (Andy) Hartnett asked 'Know what?' " the affidavit said. "McInaw uttered words to the effect of 'I know I ran over someone.' "

"She related that she stopped, did not get out of her vehicle, and proceeded home," where she "was disheveled and went to sleep," the affidavit said.

The charges were upgraded after Popovics died.

Her blood alcohol concentration was determined to be .187, more than double the 0.08 percent where a driver is considered legally intoxicated in New Jersey, according to the laboratory results of McInaw’s blood draw.

The prosecutor's office said an expert it retained said McInaw's blood alcohol concentration would have been about 0.21 at the time of the crash.

McInaw surrendered herself to authorities on Nov. 4, 2024, and was held in the Ocean County Jail but released to await trial during her detention hearing.

She was indicted on charges of vehicular homicide, strict liability vehicular homicide, and knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash in May 2025, the prosecutor's office said.

She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 26, at which time the prosecutor's office will be seeking a term of 5 years in prison subect to the No Early Release Act.

In addition to the criminal case, Popovics' family filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Jan. 12 against McInaw and three restaurants that served her alcohol on the night of the crash — The Sawmill, Berkeley Cut Steakhouse and Hooks Bar and Grill.

Previous reporting:

• Man, 75, 'Critical' After Hit-And-Run In Seaside Heights; Woman Charged
• Woman Charged In Seaside Heights Hit-And-Run Knew She Hit Someone: Affidavit
• Bayville Restaurant Owner, Fishing Icon, Dies After Hit-And-Run
• Funeral, Memorial Scholarship Set For Late Bayville Restaurant Owner
• Woman's Charges Upgraded In Seaside Heights Hit-Run After Restaurant Owner, Fisherman Dies
• Woman Charged In Fatal Seaside Heights Hit-Run Of Restaurant Owner Released: Report
• Woman Indicted In Seaside Heights Crash That Killed Popular Restaurant Owner