Hit-and-run driver sentenced to 10 years

By MILES JACKSON
Staff Writer
mjackson@thedailyjournal.com

BRIDGETON -- A 37-year-old immigrant in the U.S. illegally was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday for a hit-and-run collision that killed an elderly city woman.

Superior Court Judge Richard Geiger sentenced Lazzaro Hernandez to the term for the aggravated manslaughter of 80-year-old Lita Miller, who was hit and killed by Hernandez's van on Nov. 11, 2005.



Geiger noted that Hernandez attempted to flee from the scene and had a blood alcohol level of .25 percent.

"That's three times the legal limit," Geiger said, referring to the state's .08 percent blood alcohol threshold for drunken driving charges.
Miller's friends and family members filled the courtroom, all wearing a button featuring the smiling face of the victim.

Assistant Cumberland County Prosecutor Jon Reilly said Miller survived the initial impact of Hernandez's car, but died before she reached the hospital.

Shirley Curnutte, daughter of the victim, chastised Hernandez for "only caring about getting away" rather than stopping to try and help the woman he hit.

"I can't forgive him for taking her away from me and my family," Curnutte said.

Miller, Curnutte and two other women were driving home from the funeral of a friend when the driver of the minivan stopped in front of Curnutte's Bank Street home to let her and her mother out.

As Miller started to exit the left rear sliding door of the van, Hernandez sped by and sideswiped the vehicle, according to reports.

The impact carried the door and Miller a distance down the street to where she landed.

Hernandez drove his van a short distance down the street before abandoning it and attempting to flee on foot.

Bridgeton police arrested Hernandez and charged him with drunken driving, leaving the scene of an accident and homicide.

He pleaded guilty earlier this year to a single count of aggravated manslaughter in a plea deal with the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office.

Under terms of the sentence, Hernandez must serve 8 years and 6 months before he is eligible for parole.



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