The boy’s mother and 5-year-old sister were also struck in the grocery store parking lot and were reported in stable condition.
JACKSON TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A 9-month-old boy died after a car struck his mother and 5-year-old sister in a New Jersey grocery store parking lot, where authorities say the 20-year-old driver had never possessed a valid driver’s license in any state.
Maria CobonGuzman, 20, of Trenton, was charged with manslaughter and other offenses after the Aug. 28 crash at the NPGS grocery store on West County Line Road, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. A second woman, Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, 22, of Toms River, was also charged after investigators alleged she knew CobonGuzman had never held a valid license but allowed her to drive the vehicle. Both women were being held in the Ocean County Jail pending detention hearings.
Jackson Township police officers were called to the grocery store at about 11:55 a.m. after receiving a report of a vehicle crash involving pedestrians. Responding officers found that a mother and her two young children had been struck in the parking lot. Authorities said the children, a 5-year-old girl and her 9-month-old brother, were in a baby carriage being pushed by their mother when they were hit.
All three family members were taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment. The infant was pronounced dead at the hospital, authorities said. His mother and sister were hospitalized and reported in stable condition. Officials had not publicly released the names of the mother or either child as of Sunday.
Investigators determined that CobonGuzman was driving a Ford Fusion through the parking lot when the vehicle struck the mother and the carriage carrying both children, according to the prosecutor’s office. Authorities said their investigation found that CobonGuzman did not have a valid driver’s license and had never possessed or been issued one in New Jersey or any other state. Officials have not publicly detailed what caused the vehicle to strike the family or described the vehicle’s speed immediately before the crash.
CobonGuzman was charged with manslaughter, two counts of assault by auto and an offense involving operating a motor vehicle without ever having possessed or been issued a valid driver’s license while involved in a fatal crash. The charges are accusations, and CobonGuzman is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Authorities also arrested Lazaro-Flores after investigators alleged she knew CobonGuzman had never had a valid driver’s license but nevertheless permitted her to operate the Ford. Lazaro-Flores was charged with knowingly engaging in conduct creating a substantial risk of death to another. Prosecutors have not publicly described the relationship between the two women or explained who owned the vehicle. Lazaro-Flores also is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad and High Tech Crime Squad, along with the Jackson Township and Lakewood Township police departments and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit. Authorities have not announced whether investigators expect additional charges or disclosed what evidence is being examined by the high-tech unit.
Local and regional reports said the mother and her daughter continued to be listed in stable condition Saturday. Authorities have released few additional details about their injuries, and the prosecutor’s office has not provided further information about the infant beyond his age and death at the hospital. The family’s identities have remained private in the official information released about the case.
The fatal crash remains under investigation, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. CobonGuzman and Lazaro-Flores were lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending detention hearings, and no updated court outcome had been publicly announced by Sunday morning.