Women Ordered Held In Fatal Grocery Store Parking Crash In Ocean County

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Two women who have been charged in connection with a grocery store parking lot crash that killed an infant have been ordered detained until trial, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday.

Maria CobonGuzman, 20, and Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, 22, were ordered to remain in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River by Superior Court Judge Kimarie Rahill following a detention hearing Tuesday.

CobonGuzman has been charged with manslaughter, operating a motor vehicle without ever having possessed or been issued a valid driver’s license while involved in a fatal motor vehicle crash, and two counts of assault by auto, in the crash that happened shortly before noon in the parking lot of the NPGS grocery store on West County Line Road in Jackson, the prosecutor's office has said.

Lazaro-Flores was charged with knowingly engaging in conduct creating a substantial risk of death to another, in connection with the crash, the prosecutor's office said.

Lazaro-Flores told authorities she was teaching CobonGuzman how to drive when the crash happened, the Asbury Park Press reported, citing the probable cause affidavit.

The mother was carrying her 9-month-old son and pushing her 5-year-old daughter in a stroller when CobonGuzman got behind the wheel of a Ford Fusion and panicked, hitting the gas instead of the brake and hit them, that report said.

CobonGuzman had only driven once before, the report said.

The mother and children were taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where the baby died. He has been identified as Yitzchok Rosenberg, NJ.com reported, citing court records. The identities of his mother and sister have not been released.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have lodged immigration detainers against the women.

CobonGuzman, who has been living in Trenton, is from Guatemala, an ICE spokesperson said. She has a removal order that was issued July 31 by an immigration judge with the Department of Justice, the spokesperson said.

Lazaro-Flores, who has been living in Toms River, is from Mexico. She was processed for voluntary return five times in October 2023, the spokesperson said.

"Once in ICE custody, CobonGuzman will be processed for removal," the spokesperson said. "Lazaro-Flores will enter removal proceedings."

However, that will not happen until the two have been through the legal process with the current charges they face in Ocean County.