JACKSON – A 20-year-old Trenton woman who authorities said had never been issued a driver’s license is facing a manslaughter charge after a vehicle struck a mother and her two young children in a grocery store parking lot, killing a 9-month-old boy.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Maria CobonGuzman was charged Aug. 28 with manslaughter, operating a vehicle without ever having a valid driver’s license while involved in a fatal crash, and two counts of assault by auto.
Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, 22, of Toms River, was also charged with knowingly engaging in conduct creating a substantial risk of death to another. Authorities allege Lazaro-Flores knew CobonGuzman had never held a valid driver’s license but still allowed her to drive the vehicle.
Jackson Township police were called around 11:55 a.m. Aug. 28 to the parking lot of the Jackson NPGS grocery store on West County Line Road following a report that pedestrians had been struck.
Police found a mother and her two children — a 5-year-old girl and a 9-month-old boy — injured in the parking lot. All three were taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.
The infant was pronounced dead at the hospital. His mother and 5-year-old sister remained hospitalized in stable condition, authorities said.
Investigators determined CobonGuzman was driving a Ford Fusion through the grocery store parking lot when the vehicle struck the mother and a baby carriage carrying both children, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Authorities said their investigation found CobonGuzman had never possessed a valid driver’s license in New Jersey or any other state.
CobonGuzman and Lazaro-Flores were arrested and taken to the Ocean County Jail, where they were being held pending detention hearings.
The crash remains under investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad and High Tech Crime Squad, Jackson Township and Lakewood Township police departments, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.
The charges are accusations, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
