Woodbridge Man Admits To Fatal Hit-And-Run, Cover Up: UCPO

LINDEN, NJ —A Woodbridge man admitted to hitting and killing a Union County pedestrian in Linden in 2017, then fleeing the scene and attempting to cover it up, acting Union County Prosecutor Michael A. Monahan announced.

Michael Nicholson, 52, of the Colonia section of Woodbridge, pleaded guilty Monday to charges including 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, Monahan said.

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.

Nicholson is scheduled to appear for sentencing on Friday, Feb. 8 before state Superior Court Judge Lisa Miralles Walsh where the State will request 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)

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