MANCHESTER – A Manchester man has been charged after hitting a pedestrian with his car and leaving the scene of what would become a fatal crash.
On April 13, the Manchester Township Police Department received a report regarding a pedestrian being hit by a motor vehicle on Yorktowne Parkway in Whiting.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found Jack Gotfried, 69, of Whiting, laying in the roadway with injuries to his lower extremities. Gotfried was quickly flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
After conducting an investigation, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit and Manchester Township Police Department Detective Bureau were able to identify the suspect who hit Gotfried as Kevin Noonan, 62, of Manchester.
According to police, Noonan was at Gotfried’s residence to pick up furniture that Gotfried was giving away. When loading the furniture into his vehicle, Noonan allegedly backed his vehicle up at a high rate of speed and hit Gotfried, pinning him between the rear of the vehicle and a truck parked in front of the residence. Noonan then allegedly fled the scene, leaving Gotfried injured in the roadway, police said.
Later that day, Noonan was found walking in the area of Western Boulevard in Lacey Township and was apprehended by a detective from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Noonan was transported to Manchester Township Police Headquarters, where he was processed and consented to a draw of his blood; the blood draw was subsequently taken at Community Medical Center in Toms River.
Noonan was charged with Knowingly Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident as well as Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Suspended Driver’s License while being involved in a Motor Vehicle Accident Resulting in Death. Noonan is currently lodged in the Ocean County Jail, pending a detention hearing.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer acknowledges the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Manchester Township Police Department Patrol Division, Manchester Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their cooperative assistance in connection with this investigation.
The public are reminded that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
