Man Sentenced 4 Years After Hit-And-Run Killing of Teaneck Woman

TEANECK, NJ — It was announced today that the Florida trucker who committed a hit-and-run last year and killed a 21-year-old Teaneck woman was sentenced to four years in state prison.

Joel Lasanta, 37, of Kissimmee, Florida, accepted a plea bargain from prosecutors rather than face trial, pleading guilty to a second-degree charge of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death. They dropped a hindering charge as part of the agreement.

On June 4, 2020 Jada Smith was driving southbound on the New Jersey Turnpike near Fort Lee, with her mother and father trailing in a car behind hers, when she was involved in a crash and her vehicle became disabled. Smith then got out of her Honda CRV to call her mother and was standing on the road when she was struck by a tractor-trailer. Troopers responded to the accident at 10:25 p.m. and declared Smith dead at the scene.

Two days after the hit-and-run, Lasanta was arrested at the Clara Barton Service Area on the New Jersey Turnpike — about 115 miles away from the scene of the crash. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with fatal injuries and hindering apprehension.

Lasanta remained held in the Bergen County Jail, awaiting his assignment to a state correctional facility.