What to Know
- Police have arrested the man who fatally struck a 15-year-old boy in a hit-and-run on Friday night, cops said
- Alexander Politan was charged on Tuesday with causing the death of Jesus Lopez-Grande while driving with a suspended license
- The boy was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. His father was taken to the hospital with an injured elbow
Police have arrested the man who fatally struck a 15-year-old boy in a hit-and-run on Friday night, cops said.
Alexander Politan was charged on Tuesday with causing the death of Jesus Lopez-Grande while driving with a suspended license. He will be held at Ocean County Jail until his hearing.
The teenager was walking east along Oak Street in Lakewood with his father just after 9 p.m. when a driver traveling east in a 2014 black Jeep Cherokee hit both of them, officials said. The driver fled the scene on Albert Avenue, according to police.
Lopez-Grande, who suffered “significant bodily injury,” was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. His father was taken to the hospital with an injured elbow.
Police on Sunday said the vehicle that hit the boy had been located in the driveway a Toms River home, thanks to a tip. Two days later, police arrested the 31-year-old Politan. Information regarding an attorney for him was not immediately available.
Despite Politan being brought into custody, prosecutors maintained that the investigation remains ongoing, and ask anyone with information regarding the deadly hit-and-run to contact the Lakewood Police Department.
Local
Lopez-Grande had been walking home from Dunkin' Donuts, where he had just started work nearly two months ago. He'd already made an impression on his colleagues, co-worker Chelsea Bodine said. "He was the funniest kid. It was quick learning, learned everything immediately and full of life."
