TOMS RIVER — A Seaside Park woman was sentenced to five years in state prison for driving drunk, striking 75-year-old Robert “Bob” Popovics in Seaside Heights and leaving the scene, authorities said.
Genell McInaw, 51, was sentenced June 24 by Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer after previously pleading guilty to vehicular homicide, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Popovics, also of Seaside Park, was a Marine veteran, nationally known fly-fishing expert and longtime owner of the Shady Rest restaurant in Berkeley Township. His death drew widespread attention throughout the Jersey Shore restaurant and fishing communities.
Under the No Early Release Act, McInaw must serve at least 85% of her sentence before she can be considered for parole. She pleaded guilty March 16.
Seaside Heights police were called around 9:30 p.m. September 23, 2024, to Dupont Avenue and the Boulevard after receiving a report of a man lying in the roadway. Officers found Popovics unconscious with serious injuries after he had been struck while attempting to cross the street, authorities said.
Popovics suffered severe internal injuries and a broken shoulder and was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. He died from his injuries November 1, 2024.
Investigators determined that a dark-colored sedan traveling south on the Boulevard struck Popovics and left the area. Authorities said McInaw was driving the vehicle.
McInaw was later arrested at her home by detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad. She was initially charged with knowingly leaving the scene of a crash resulting in serious bodily injury.
Authorities obtained a court-authorized blood draw at Community Medical Center in Toms River. Prosecutors said testing showed McInaw’s blood alcohol concentration was .187 at the time her blood was drawn. A forensic expert retained by the state estimated her blood alcohol level was about .21 at the time of the crash, more than twice New Jersey’s legal limit of .08.
After Popovics died and investigators received the blood test results, the charges against McInaw were upgraded to vehicular homicide, strict liability vehicular homicide and knowingly leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
Earlier in the case, prosecutors confirmed that several additional counts and motor vehicle summonses would be dismissed as part of the plea agreement, while McInaw would also plead guilty to a related driving-under-the-influence offense.
McInaw surrendered November 4, 2024, at Seaside Heights police headquarters with her attorney present. She was taken to the Ocean County Jail and later released under New Jersey’s bail reform guidelines.
It was later determined that McInaw had been employed at the Shady Rest and did not realize the pedestrian she struck that night was Popovics, her employer.
Following the plea hearing back in March of this year, McInaw’s defense attorney, Terrance Turnbach, said his client accepted responsibility.
“Ms. McInaw accepts the responsibility for her actions on the night of September 23, 2024. There are no words to express the extreme remorse she feels for the family of Robert Popovics,” Turnbach said.
Senior Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke handled the case for the state. The investigation involved the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Seaside Heights police and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.
