During a hearing on Friday, June 27, 2025, Sonia N. Gomez, 65, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Fatality, before the Honorable Joseph W. Oxley, J.S.C. As a result of her plea, Gomez faces up to three years in a New Jersey State Prison when she is sentenced on Thursday, August 14.
The guilty plea stems from an investigation that began on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at approximately 7:24 p.m., when members of the Aberdeen Township Police Department responded to the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and 2nd Street for a report of a pedestrian struck. Upon arrival, officers discovered a 58-year-old female in the roadway.
The pedestrian, later identified as Judith Fox-Hernandez of Aberdeen, was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for treatment, where she would later succumb to her injuries on Sunday, September 29.
An investigation by members of the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART), the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office – Major Crimes Bureau, and the Aberdeen Township Police Department determined that Fox-Hernandez was struck by a 2015 Honda Pilot, driven by Gomez. Gomez did not stop at the time of the crash at the scene, nor did she report the collision to law enforcement.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutors Michael Luciano of the MCPO Major Crimes Bureau and Jamie Fitzgerald of the MCPO Trial Division.
Gomez is represented by Harold C. Baker, Esq., of Fair Haven.
