Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of OLIVER GARCIA (DOB: 4/3/1995; single; mechanic) of 183 Garfield Avenue, Apartment 1R, Jersey City, NJ for knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in serious bodily injury, hindering apprehension, and tampering with physical evidence. The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit under the direction of Acting Chief Matthew Finck and the Fort Lee Police Department under the direction of Chief Matthew J. Hintze.
On Saturday, February 17, 2024 at approximately 6:58 p.m., the Fort Lee Police Department responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting a hit-and-run crash involving two struck pedestrians that occurred on Lemoine Avenue in Fort Lee, NJ. As a result of the crash, the pedestrians were transported to the Hackensack University Medical Center where they were treated for serious injuries sustained during the collision. An investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit and the Fort Lee Police Department revealed that a 2007 BMW 550i operated by OLIVER GARCIA was involved in a collision with another vehicle that subsequently led to that vehicle striking the victims as they waited at a bus stop. GARCIA fled the area prior to police arrival while the second vehicle remained on scene.
As a result of the investigation, on February 22, 2024, OLIVER GARCIA was charged with two counts of third-degree knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in serious bodily injury, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1.1; third-degree hindering apprehension, N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3b(1); and fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence, N.J.S.A. 2C:28-6(1). GARCIA was also served with multiple motor vehicle summonses and was released on a summons pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, NJ.
Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely an accusation and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and he would like to thank the Fort Lee Police Department and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office for their ongoing assistance in this investigation, along with the Englewood Police Department and Ridgewood Police Department, which participate in the Bergen County Fatal Accident Investigation Unit.
