A roadside memorial for Mariano Codallos-Tepepa at the spot where family says he was killed by a hit and run driver in front of the Bank of America on Shrewsbury Avenue in Shrewsbury Borough. Â (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
A family is in mourning and police are still searching for a suspect more than a week after a 23-year-old man with deep ties to Red Bank was killed by a hit and run driver in Shrewsbury.
Up to 200 people have been attending a nine-night vigil for Red Bank-raised Mariano Codallos-Tepepa at the family home in Brick. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
“The circumstances behind a fatal hit-and-run that left a pedestrian dead last week are under investigation,” reads a statement from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
The statement continues:
Shortly after 2:45 a.m. on Monday, August 5, members of the Shrewsbury Police Department responded to a 911 call for a report of an unresponsive person in the area of Shrewsbury and Sycamore avenues. The pedestrian, a 23-year-old male resident of Toms River, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Neither Shrewsbury police nor the prosecutor’s office has released the victim’s name. But friends, family and local officials identified him as Mariano Codallos-Tepepa. Raised in Red Bank, family members said he lived the last several years in Brick Township.
His sister Brenda said their parents, Crisoforo Codallos and Maricela Tepepa, have been comforted by their deep faith and the presence of up to 200 mourners a day, many traveling from Red Bank, for the nine days of nightly vigils being held at the family home in accordance with Mexican traditions. A GoFundMe drive has been set up to help the family with expense.
But family members are also groping for answers over the hit-and-run.
“They don’t want to be caught up in that,” Brenda Codallos-Tepepa said of her parents. “But for a lot of us, it’s like who was this person? It’s just the fact that they didn’t wait, or attempt to call an ambulance or the cops.”
“The fact that the person left and didn’t care,” she added. “Why would anyone do that?”
Codallos-Tepepa says her brother had returned from a concert in New York City that night and was dropped off at the home of relatives in Tinton Falls. He was then attempting to walk to the home of his cousins in Red Bank, she believes.
A young Mariano Codallos-Tepepa outside St. Anthony of Padua Church in Red Bank, where his funeral was held last Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Brenda Codallos-Tepepa)
Born in Mexico and brought to the United States by his parents as a baby, Mariano Codallos-Tepepa grew up with his two sisters in the apartment complex at 50 Locust Avenue in Red Bank, and graduated from both Red Bank Primary and Red Bank Middle Schools.
The family eventually moved to Middletown, where he studied and played soccer at Middletown North High School. He moved with his family to Brick when his parents were able to purchase a home there.
From his obituary:
A 2019 graduate of Middletown North High School where he played soccer, Mariano loved all music, especially cultural and current Mexican music. He was devoted to his family, Red Bank peers, enjoyed traveling, attending music festivals and concerts. Mariano enjoyed going for a run every morning and was an avid fan of the New York Yankees. He had an analytical mind, attuned to mathematics and would frequently study the stock market and delve into the workings of computers and technology, all while mastering his skill with table games. Dedicated to his faith, and a long-time parishioner of Saint Anthony of Padua Church in Red Bank, Mariano deepened his faith and became a brother of the Cursillo de Cristiandad.
Cherished son of Crisoforo Codallos and Maricela Tepepa; beloved brother of Brenda and Vanessa; devoted grandson of Juliana Mendez, Mario Tepepa and the late Angela Perez and the late Crisoforo Codallos; loving nephew of Maria Flor Tepepa, Monica Tepepa and Mario Tepepa and deeply loved and missed by many extended family members and friends. Mariano also leaves behind his beloved Chihuahuas, Cooper and Denver, and his Bearded Dragon, Woody.
His death has sparked a massive outpouring of support and grief in Red Bank, which family members say remained the focal point of his life even after the family’s moves to Middletown and Brick.
Codallos-Tepepa’s sister Vanessa was granted leave from basic training with the U.S. Navy to return New Jersey for the funeral. A standing-room-only crowd filled St. Anthony of Padua Church in Red Bank for the mass Saturday, with police shutting down Route 35 for the procession to the burial at Fairview cemetery in Middletown.
The nine-day vigil for Mariano Codallos-Tepepa continued Wednesday night. (Photo courtesy of Brenda Codallos-Tepepa.)
Yet, nine days later, the family is searching for answers as to what happened.
“The fact that this person just left and didn’t care is what has impacted a lot of our extended family members, and even the Red Bank community, because a lot of them are very confused as to why they haven’t found the person,” Brenda Codallos-Tepepa said.
Mariano Codallos-Tepepa’s sister, who returned from basic training with the US Navy for his funeral, at his burial last Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Codallos-Tepepa family.)
The prosecutor’s office said the matter is being investigated by the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART), and the Shrewsbury Police Department. Anyone with information is being asked to contact MCPO Detective Brian Boryszewski at 800-533-7443 or Shrewsbury police Sergeant Daniel DeCristofaro at 732-741-2500.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at  [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
