A driver accused in a hit-and-run crash that killed a Rutgers University graduate one day before he was due to receive his diploma has been indicted on vehicular homicide charges.
Eduardo Perez, 33, of Elizabeth, is also charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident in the indictment handed up by a county grand jury, Union County prosecutors said.
The charges against Perez stem from a May 12 crash in Linden that killed 23-year-old Mujahid Henry.
Authorities say an SUV driven by Perez struck the Newark man. Perez allegedly drove off and abandoned the vehicle in Elizabeth after striking several parked cars.
Henry earned his bachelor's degree in January from the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers-Newark. He was due to get his degree at the school's commencement.
"Undoubtedly a star on the rise, he was characteristically hard-working, aspiring to earn a graduate degree and go into politics, amazing all around him with the energy that enabled him to be such a success in college while holding down two jobs and volunteering in support of local public officials," Chancellor Nancy Cantor wrote in a message to students at the time.
Henry worked on Democrat Phil Murphy's campaign for New Jersey governor. He was also a legislative aide to Freeholder Leonard M. Luciano.
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Henry "was a bright, outstanding worker who was looking forward to utilizing his college degree to make a difference in his community," the Phil Murphy campaign wrote on its Facebook page.
"We will always remember your infectious joy, and your passion to make the world a better place," the campaign wrote.
