teen seriously injured in DWI hit-and-run accident involving illegal immigrant

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Police: Bridgeton teen seriously injured in DWI hit-and-run accident involving illegal immigrant
BRIDGETON — A teenage boy sustained hip injuries and a broken leg when he was struck by an alleged drunken driver’s van on Church Street Thursday night.

The alleged driver, whom police identified as a suspected illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was arrested after a witness to the Church Street hit-and-run crash detained him at Bank Street and Irving Avenue following a foot chase.
It was the second hit-and-run accident of the night for Jovany Mendez, 23, who had been living on Church Street, according to police.

Police initially were dispatched to Wendy’s on East Broad Street at 7:58 p.m. on a report that a large, blue passenger van backed into a car in the fast-food restaurant’s drive-thru lane and left the scene, Bridgeton Police Capt. Burl Kimble said.

While responding to the initial hit-and-run accident report, police were advised a van had crashed into several parked cars and a pedestrian on the 100 block of Church St.

The report indicated the pedestrian victim was “pinned” under the van, Kimble said.

Bridgeton Fire Department emergency medical personnel were treating the 17-year-old boy when police arrived. The boy was flown to Cooper University Hospital, in Camden, with a broken right femur and hip injuries, Bridgeton Police Lt. Jere Branch said.

While traveling north on Church Street at what one witness described as a high rate of speed, Mendez allegedly swerved through the southbound lane and crashed the Dodge Ram van into one vehicle, which caused a chain-reaction collision involving two other parked vehicles.

The witness told police the van then struck the juvenile victim, whom police only identified as an Amity Heights resident, before crashing into a fence in front of 110 Church St.

The teen victim was listed in stable condition at the Camden hospital today, Branch said.

Police charged Mendez with aggravated assault by automobile and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury. Bail was set at $50,000.

He was ticketed for drunken driving, driving while unlicensed, reckless driving and possessing open alcoholic beverages in a motor vehicle.

As a suspected illegal immigrant, Mendez is being held without bail in Cumberland County Jail on a detainer issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Police say they found four empty beer cans in the front of the van allegedly driven by Mendez. The van displayed a Pennsylvania license plate and was registered to Mendez.

Mendez’s blood-alcohol content level was 0.22 percent, nearly three times New Jersey’s legal limit to drive (0.08 percent), police said. http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.s..._seriousl.html

[Patriotic Army Mom]

This is sad for the family as they will get stuck with the bill!

[DerailAmnesty.com]

Originally Posted by Patriotic Army Mom

This is sad for the family as they will get stuck with the bill!

This is sad for New Jersey that has been saddled with this human trash, as a result of the federal government's failure to enforce our laws.