Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office

25 Kirkpatrick Street, 3^rd Floor, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901 (732) 745-3300

*News Release* Date: January 26, 2012

Driver sought in hit-and-run fatality

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan and the New Brunswick Police Department announced today that police are searching for the driver of a sports utility vehicle that fled after striking and killing a 26-year-old bicyclist.

The vehicle, a dark-colored Toyota 4Runner built between 1995 and 2002, was seen fleeing on Georges Road in New Brunswick after striking Leonel Lopez Hernandez of New Brunswick at 10:53 p.m. on January 25, 2012.

Mr. Hernandez, a husband, and father of two young children, was riding his bike home from Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he worked as a custodian.

During a preliminary investigation, Officer Hector Lugo of the New Brunswick Police Department and Investigator Greg Morris of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office determined that the driver of the Toyota was traveling on Georges Road and heading toward North Brunswick when he crossed into the oncoming traffic lane and struck Mr. Hernandez, who was on the side of the road near the South Talmadge Street intersection.

The Toyota 4Runner immediately left the scene, but investigators have determined that after striking the victim, the dark-colored vehicle sustained damage to the driver’s side. In addition, the driver’s side rear window was shattered.

Mr. Hernandez was pronounced dead at the scene.

The investigation is continuing and police urge anyone with information to contact Officer Lugo of the New Brunswick Police Department at (732) 745-5200, or Investigator Morris of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3927.