Woman's Charges Upgraded In Seaside Heights Hit-Run After Restaurant Owner, Fisherman Dies

TOMS RIVER, NJ — New charges have been filed against a Seaside Park woman in a September hit-and-run after the victim, a popular restaurant owner and fishing icon, died of his injuries, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday.

Robert "Bob" Popovics, 75, died Friday of the injuries he suffered in the Sept. 23 incident, his family said.

Genell A. Mcinaw, 50, has been charged with vehicular homicide, strict liability vehicular homicide, and knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash resulting in death, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

The new charges were filed on Monday, authorities said, and Mcinaw turned herself in at Seaside Heights Police Headquarters on Tuesday accompanied by her attorney, authorities said. She is being held in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River pending a detention hearing.

Mcinaw initially was arrested early on Sept. 24 on a charge of knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in serious bodily injury, after investigators tracked her to her home in the hours after the crash. She was released under New Jersey bail reform rules, Billhimer said.

Seaside Heights police found Popovics seriously injured and unconscious on the Boulevard in front of Klee's Bar and Grill about 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 23. He was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune and remained there until his death.

Authorities determined Mcinaw had hit him after reviewing video surveillance from Klee's and Hooks Bar and Grill, where she had been drinking alcohol right before the crash, authorities said.

Evidence showed she had ordered four drinks in a 36-minute span at Hooks; Mcinaw later told authorities she had been drinking at two other restaurants earlier in the day, according to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case.

Mcinaw's blood was drawn under a court-authorized warrant at 12:45 a.m. on Sept. 24, and the results of the lab testing showed her blood alcohol concentration was .187,Billhimer said.

In New Jersey, a driver "is presumed to be over the legal limit for purposes of alcohol consumption where the operator’s BAC is .08 or greater," Billhimer noted.

Popovics owned Shady Rest Restaurant in Bayville, and his injuries and his death prompted an outpouring of support for his family along with remembrances of what he meant to many people. Read more: Bayville Restaurant Owner, Fishing Icon, Dies After Hit-And-Run

Funeral services announced this week include a viewing on Nov. 11 and a funeral Mass on Nov. 12. Popovics' family also is set to launch a scholarship in his name. Read more: Funeral, Memorial Scholarship Set For Late Bayville Restaurant Owner