Crime and Courts

NJ Man Gets 364-Day Term in Fatal Hit-And-Run, Can Keep Working

Ramos will be allowed to continue working in the postal service by day, and return to jail at night

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A New Jersey man accused of having twice fled the scene of a deadly hit-and-run accident has been sentenced to just under a year in jail.

The North Jersey Record reports that a Superior Court judge on Friday imposed a 364-day county jail sentence on 48-year-old Rafael Ramos.

Authorities in Bergen County said Ramos told police he drove “over something" in September 2018 in Ridgewood, then returned to find 54-year-old Edward Rao lying in the street. Authorities said Ramos spoke with police at the scene but left without mentioning his role. He was arrested a week later.

Judge Carol Novey Catuogno called his behavior "abhorrent" but spared him state prison time and allowed him to continue working in the postal service by day, requiring him to return to jail at night.

Defense attorney Lawrence Kleiner said his client had been a model citizen, serving in the military service prior to becoming a postal worker 21 years ago. He called the accident “the mistake of his life."

Copyright The Associated Press
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