An off-duty New Jersey officer and his mother were charged after he fatally struck a pedestrian with his car and took the body back to his house, officials say
Tyler Lauletta
A New Jersey officer has been charged with reckless vehicular homicide, Essex County officials said.
Louis Santiago took a pedestrian's body home after a collision. He then returned it to the scene.
Santiago's passenger and mother also face charges tied to the incident.
An off-duty New Jersey police officer has been charged with reckless vehicular homicide after fatally striking a pedestrian while driving, officials said.
Louis Santiago, 25, of the Newark Police Department, struck Damian Z. Dymka, 29, early in the morning on November 1 on the Garden State Parkway, said a release from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office issued on Wednesday.
The prosecutor's office said that after striking Dymka, Santiago fled the scene, only to return to put the body in his car and drive home, where he discussed the situation with his mother, Annette Santiago. A preliminary investigation found that Santiago failed to "maintain his lane and traveled on the right shoulder" of the parkway, where he hit Dymka.
Albert Guzman was a passenger in the car. And neither Santiago nor Guzman called 911 or administered aid, the prosecutor's office said in its statement.
The release also said that Santiago eventually returned the body to the scene, where it was found in the back seat by New Jersey State Police.
Santiago's father, a lieutenant in the Newark Police Department, was the one who called 911 to report that his son had been involved in an accident.
The release said that in addition to the charge of reckless vehicular homicide, Santiago was charged with leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death, desecrating human remains, and conspiracy to hinder prosecution, among other charges.
Santiago's mother and Guzman have been charged with conspiracy to desecrate human remains, hindering apprehension, and conspiracy to hinder apprehension and tamper with physical evidence.
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