OCEAN COUNTY – A Barnegat resident who struck and killed a pedestrian in Brick before leaving the scene will be spending the next five years in prison, according to Ocean County authorities.
28-year-old Craig Menth had pleaded guilty in the September 1, 2019 crime when he hit 28-year-old Robert Berenger with his car on Drum Point Road and sped off. When Brick police arrived at the scene, they found Berenger’s lifeless body in the roadway.
A probe by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit and Brick Township Police identified Menth as the driver and owner of the vehicle that struck and killed Berenger. Menth was arrested at his Barnegat home on September 2, 2019.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said Menth was sentenced to five years New Jersey State Prison for Knowingly Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident Resulting in Death in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-5.1.
Menth pled guilty to the offense before Judge Collins on January 27, 2020.
In a news release, Prosecutor Billhimer acknowledges the fine work of Senior Assistant Prosecutor Robert Cassidy who handled the case on behalf of the State.
Prosecutor Billhimer likewise commends the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Advocacy Unit, Brick Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their collaborative efforts relative to this investigation, ultimately resulting in Menth’s guilty plea and five-year state prison sentence.
