Driver Who Killed North Jersey Woman Arrested, Cops Say

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — Police have arrested a man suspected of killing a woman in a hit-and-run crash last year in Passaic County, officials said.

Jose Morillo, 58, of Garfield, was charged on Monday for his role in a crash that left a 20-year-old woman dead.

On Oct. 4, around 8 a.m., police responded to a call of an unresponsive woman on the side of Route 21 North in Clifton.

Police found the woman, later identified as Kamara Young, of Paterson, dead on the side of the road. Broken pieces of a car were found near Young’s body, police said.

An investigation found that Young had been hit by a Porsche Cayenne being driven by Morillo, according to authorities.

Morillo is charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death. He is awaiting court proceedings, and prosecutors intend to hold him on pre-trial detention.

If convicted, Morillo faces up to ten years in prison.

According to her obituary, Young, affectionately known as "Tootsie," was an aspiring cosmetologist with a "sweet and soft-spoken spirit."

Anyone with additional information on the crash is asked to contact the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org.