Drunk Somerset County Man Found Guilty of Fatal Hit-and-Run: Prosecutor

Plainfield, NJ -- A Somerset County man was found guilty of killing a man in Plainfield while drunk during a hit-and-run last fall, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Friday.

A Union County grand jury has returned a two-count indictment against Erixon Velasquez-Maldonado, 26, of North Plainfield for second-degree vehicular homicide and second-degree leaving the scene of an accident in connection with the death of 45-year-old Maynor Pena of Piscataway.

He could face 5 to 10 years in state prison.

A report of a hit-and-run pedestrian strike was reported shortly after midnight on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015.

Plainfield Police Division patrol units responded to the 700 block of West Front Street in Plainfield where they found Pena suffering from serious injuries; he was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he was pronounced dead a short while later, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Jillian Reyes, who is prosecuting the case.

"Minutes after the hit-and-run, police responded to a report of a second accident near the area of Park Avenue and East 5th Street in Plainfield, where they found Velasquez-Maldonado and took him into custody," according to the release.

Velasquez-Maldonado had a blood-alcohol level of approximately three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Bail was set at $150,000 with no cash allowance.