Two Kearny residents who the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office says were responsible for a serious crash that injured a moped rider in town have been arrested and charged in connection to the Feb. 11, 2024, incident, Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.
The Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit arrested Sergio Morocho, 35, of Kearny, and charged him with knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision, unlawful taking of means of conveyance and endangering the welfare of a child.
Sandra Morocho, 33, also of Kearny, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and hindering.
They pair were arrested at locations in Lyndhurst and Irvington, respectively, on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, and released pending their first court appearance.
Shortly after 10:15 p.m. Feb. 11, 2024, the Kearny Police Department was notified a moped operator was struck by a cargo van in the area of Harrison and Bergen avenues. Responding officers located the individual, later identified as a 67-year-old North Arlington man, with life-threatening injuries.
The striking vehicle did not remain at the scene, but was recovered not far from the collision site.
During the course of the investigation, Sandra Morocho falsely reported she was operating the vehicle when Sergio Morocho had been driving at the time of the collision. Sergio Morocho did not own the cargo van and was not authorized to be using the vehicle at the time of the crash.
The investigation further revealed two children were unrestrained in the back of the van when the collision occurred.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.