NJ Man Reported Fake Carjacking To Cover Up Crash: Prosecutor

LYNDHURST, NJ — A Nutley man faces multiple charges after authorities say he hit a woman with his car in Lyndhurst, fled the scene, then called in a fake carjacking "in an effort to conceal the crime."

Lyndhurst police responded to reports of an accident at the intersection of Grant and Valley Brook Avenues around 9:55 p.m. on Tuesday night. Officials found a 56-year-old woman "lying on the side of the roadway with multiple serious injuries," the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said.

She was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center where she is in critical but stable condition, officials said.

Video from the area of the crash revealed that she was hit by a silver sedan that fled the area, the prosecutor said.

Lyndhurst police received a report of a carjacking from Samuel Torres a short time later. Torres reported that "he was assaulted and knocked unconscious," the prosecutor said.

"He stated that when he awoke, he was on the side of the road and his vehicle, a 2017 silver Toyota Camry, was missing," authorities added.

However, an investigation found that Torres was driving the car at the time of the accident, and that "he fabricated the carjacking report in an effort to conceal the crime."

Torres was arrested on June 9. He is charged leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in serious bodily injury, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, hindering apprehension, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

His court date is scheduled for June 23.

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