BRIDGETON, NJ — A Bridgeton man has been charged in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash that occurred Nov. 2.
Brayan Laverde-Torres, 32, of Bridgeton, faces charges including knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death, a second-degree crime.
Shortly before 6 p.m. Nov. 2, Bridgeton Police Department officers responded to the area of South Avenue and Garfield Avenue for a report of a pedestrian who appeared to have been struck by a vehicle.
The victim, Steven Calloway, 62, of Bridgeton, was initially hospitalized at Cooper University Hospital in Camden due to the seriousness of his injuries.
Calloway died Nov. 11.
The investigation revealed that the vehicle involved was a white pickup truck.
The driver was observed exiting the vehicle after striking the victim, looking underneath the truck, then leaving the scene.
Investigators tracked the pickup truck at various locations in center city Bridgeton through surveillance video.
The vehicle was registered to Laverde-Torres.
The pickup truck was later located in the back yard of the defendant’s residence with the license plates removed.
On Nov. 6, Laverde-Torres was charged with knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in serious bodily injury, a third-degree crime; hindering apprehension or prosecution, a fourth-degree crime; and obstructing administration of law or other government function, a fourth-degree crime.
On Nov. 12, Laverde-Torres was charged with an additional charge of knowingly leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, a second-degree crime.
The defendant is presently in custody.
A detention hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18 in Cumberland County Superior Court.
