Howell Woman Charged With Hit-And-Run, Injured 77-Year-Old

FREEHOLD – A Howell woman has been charged with hit and run after she struck and critically injured a 77-year-old Matawan resident in the borough last month, authorities said.

The Matawan woman was found along the roadside on Freneau Avenue when local police arrived on the scene around 7 p.m. on March 9, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said. The victim was treated at the scene by Bayshore EMS and Hackensack Meridian ALS and was later transported to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune Township.

She remains hospitalized at Jersey Shore Medical Center in stable condition.

Jennifer B. Aretino, 36, of Citation Street in Howell, was charged with third degree leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision with serious bodily injury and numerous motor vehicle violations. She was charged last week and released on a summons pending a future court date.

On March 29, a Matawan police officer conducted a routine motor vehicle stop about 4:19 p.m. on Main Street in Matawan where Aretino was identified as the driver of the hit and run vehicle.

Evidence collected at the scene by Matawan police officers led to the identification of the type of vehicle responsible for the incident, the county prosecutor said.

If convicted of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision with serious bodily injury, Arentino faces a sentence of three to five years in state prison.

The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Meghan Doyle.