Woman Sentenced In Drunken Hit-And-Run That Killed Restaurant Owner In Ocean County

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Seaside Park woman who left the scene after hitting a popular restaurant owner and fishing legend while she was drunk has been sentenced to prison time, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Friday.

Genell A. McInaw, 52, has been sentenced to five years in prison for vehicular homicide in the death of Robert "Bob" Popovics in 2024 by Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer, First Assistant Prosecutor Michael T. Nolan Jr. said. She pled guilty to the charge on March 16 before Palmer.

McInaw's sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act, which means she must serve 85 percent of the sentence before she is eligible for parole. She was being held in the Ocean County Jail on Friday pending transfer to state prison, according to jail records.

McInaw was driving drunk on Sept. 23, 2024, when she hit Popovics, 75, of Seaside Park, as he crossed the Boulevard near Dupont Avenue after leaving Klee's Bar and Grill shortly before 9:30 p.m. McInaw left the scene and drove to her home.

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

A review of the security footage at Klee's showed a gray sedan going south and hitting him, the probable cause affidavit said. Police 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 had 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.

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