Boy, 6, Killed While Walking on Sidewalk by Driver in Highland Park: Prosecutor

Highland Park, NJ - A driver has been charged with jumping a curb Saturday in Highland Park, and then hitting and killing a 6-year-old child, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey and the Highland Park police announced Sunday afternoon.

Shang Zhen Huang, 21, of Piscataway jumped a curb on Raritan Avenue (Rt. 27) in Highland Park at 3:10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, said Chief Stephen Rizco of the Highland Park Police Department. He struck a boy and his mother as they walked on the sidewalk.

The boy, identified as Chaim Kraus, and his mother, whose name is being withheld, were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Tragically, the boy was pronounced dead at 3:39 p.m. Saturday.

The 37-year-old mother remains in serious, but stable condition at the hospital.

NJ.com reports that the mother and son were walking home from synagogue, and that the woman may have had another young child with her, who was not injured.

The incident happened near the Columbia Avenue intersection on Raritan, police said. Police determined Huang was heading north on Raritan Avenue toward Edison, when his 2013 Lexus jumped the curb and hit the two victims.

Huang also was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries before being released to police. He is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail after he was charged with two counts of aggravated assault.

Detective Donald Heck of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and Officer Jose Curbelo of the Highland Park Police Department led the investigation, according to the prosecutor’s office.