Man Gets 7.5 Years For Fatal Hit-And-Run Of Union Co. Child: Prosecutors

UNION COUNTY, NJ — A Hudson County man, who was convicted by a jury in March for fatally hitting a 12-year-old child with his van and fleeing the scene, was sentenced to seven and-a-half years in state prison on Friday, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel announced Monday.

Jose Marrero, 39, of Kearny was sentenced Friday for knowingly leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death, according to prosecutors.

The hit-and-run occurred on July 17, 2019 just before 8 p.m. when a pedestrian was hit by a car in the area of Forest Drive and Galloping Hill Road in Union. Union Police Department patrol units found an unresponsive 12-year-old, Jeremy Maraj, of Union who was then rushed to University Hospital in Newark.

Maraj died from his injuries two days later, according to prosecutors.

It was later found that Maraj was on his way home from Irene Hoppe Park in Union when he was hit by the vehicle.

At trial, the state revealed that at the time of the accident Marrero was driving his work vehicle — a 2016 Nissan NV200 Cargo Van — when he hit Maraj on the shoulder of Galloping Hill Road.

Witnesses to the accident testified that Marrero didn’t stop and fled the scene, according to prosecutors.

Video surveillance obtained from the area and parts from the van recovered at the scene ultimately led detectives to Marrero, prosecutors said.

Marrero was found guilty of the hit-and-run in March.

Read more: Man Found Guilty For Fatal Hit-And-Run Of 12-Year-Old Union Boy

Maraj's memory lives on, as his organs were donated to other children after he was killed in the crash.

Read More: Union Boy Killed In Crash Gives Gift Of Life, Donates Organs