7 Years In Prison For Colonia Man In Fatal Hit And Run

LINDEN, NJ — A Woodbridge Twp. man who previously admitted to hitting and killing a Vauxhall female pedestrian in Linden in 2017, then fleeing the scene and attempting to cover it up, was sentenced Friday to seven years in a New Jersey state prison, according to the Union County prosecutor.

Michael Nicholson, 52, of the Colonia section of Woodbridge, pleaded guilty in January of this year to charges that included leaving the scene of a fatal accident and witness tampering in connection with the death of 62-year-old Donna Babbs of the Vauxhall section of Union Township.

Babbs was walking north across E. St. George Avenue in Linden just before 1 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 24 when she was struck by a 2001 Nissan Altima traveling east on E. St. George Avenue (Route 27), Linden police reported.

Nicholson who was the driver reportedly went through a red light at the intersection at Washington Avenue just as Babbs was wheeling a piece of luggage across the street, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Colleen Ruppert, who prosecuted the case.

Nicholson initially stopped, got out of his vehicle, walked over to Babbs, then immediately returned to his car, removed her piece of luggage from underneath the bumper, and sped away, Ruppert said.

Shortly thereafter Babbs was pronounced dead at the scene.

He then abandoned his car in Newark, then tried to convince an acquaintance to help him by withholding evidence from police. However, police had already identified him as a suspect and he was arrested at his home without incident within hours of the crash.

This past Friday, Feb. 8, Superior Court Judge Lisa Miralles Walsh granted the prosecution's request for a term of seven years in state prison.

• See Related: Colonia Man Arrested In Hit-And-Run Crash That Killed Vauxhall Woman
• Related: Woman Killed In Fatal Hit-And-Run Crash In Linden

(Image via Linden Police: Michael Nicholson, 51, of Colonia)