RED BANK: DRIVER CHARGED IN FATAL HIT-AND-RUN

A roadside memorial to hit and run victim Mariano Codallos-Tepepa at the scene of his death. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)

By BRIAN DONOHUE

A Red Bank man has been charged with leaving the scene of an August 5 accident that left a pedestrian dead in Shrewsbury, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Friday.

Mariano Codallos-Tepepa, who was killed in a fatal hit and run and below, mourners at a nine-day vigil held at his home following his burial. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)

Jose Rodriguez-Jimenez, 40, was charged with one count of second-degree knowingly leaving the scene of an accident under certain circumstances, according to a press release from the prosecutors’s office.

On Monday, August 5, 2024, shortly after 2:45 a.m., members of the Shrewsbury Police Department responded to a 911 call for an unresponsive male lying in the roadway on Shrewsbury Avenue, in the right northbound lane near the intersection with Sycamore Avenue police said. The pedestrian, a 23-year-old male later identified as Mariano Codallos-Tepepa, a resident of Brick, was pronounced deceased at the scene, the release states.

An investigation into the collision involving members of the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART), the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office – Major Crimes Bureau, and the Shrewsbury Police Department determined that Codallos-Tepepa was struck by a Ford Econoline van, driven by Rodriguez-Jimenez. Rodriguez-Jimenez did not stop at the time of the accident at the scene, nor did he report the collision to law enforcement, the press release states.

The death of Codallos-Tepepa, who grew up in Red Bank and maintained strong ties to family and St. Anthony of Padua church sent shockwaves through the community.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Caitlin J. Sidley of the MCPO Major Crimes Bureau. “Information regarding Rodriguez-Jimenez’s legal representation was not readily available,” the press release reads.  

The release continues, “despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.”

redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at  [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. 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.