A Jersey City journalist is recovering after being struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run that ended in a violent multi-car crash and a string of charges against the driver, authorities said. According to police and witness accounts, the collision occurred in Jersey City when a vehicle struck a pedestrian and left the scene. The victim, a local journalist, was thrown to the ground and suffered injuries that required medical treatment. Instead of stopping, the driver, a resident in Bayonne New Jersey, Laura Castaneda, allegedly fled the area at a high rate of speed. Witnesses told investigators that the vehicle was seen traveling at what they believed to be more than 90 miles per hour along West Side Avenue, heading in the direction of Bayonne. Within seconds, the driver reportedly lost control and crashed into three parked vehicles, totaling all three as well as the vehicle they were driving. Emergency responders arrived on scene to find significant damage to the parked cars and debri...
A Jersey City journalist is recovering after being struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run that ended in a violent multi-car crash and a string of charges against the driver, authorities said.
According to police and witness accounts, the collision occurred in Jersey City when a vehicle struck a pedestrian and left the scene. The victim, a local journalist, was thrown to the ground and suffered injuries that required medical treatment.
Instead of stopping, the driver, a resident in Bayonne New Jersey, Laura Castaneda, allegedly fled the area at a high rate of speed. Witnesses told investigators that the vehicle was seen traveling at what they believed to be more than 90 miles per hour along West Side Avenue, heading in the direction of Bayonne. Within seconds, the driver reportedly lost control and crashed into three parked vehicles, totaling all three as well as the vehicle they were driving.
Emergency responders arrived on scene to find significant damage to the parked cars and debris scattered across the roadway. The driver was taken into custody and later identified as a resident of a neighboring Hudson County community.
Prosecutors have charged Laura Castaneda with multiple offenses, including driving without a valid license, vehicular assault, and reckless driving. Additional motor vehicle summonses related to the hit-and-run are also pending, officials said.
The victim, who asked to be identified as a working journalist based in Jersey City, said the incident has left both physical and emotional scars.
“One moment Im walking across the street towards my parked car, and the next I was on the ground, trying to process what had happened,” the victim said in an interview. “Knowing that the driver kept going and then crashed into several other cars is terrifying. It could have been so much worse for everyone involved.”
Court records indicate that the driver was initially scheduled to appear in municipal court but failed to do so, prompting a judge to issue an arrest warrant. The driver was later taken into custody on the warrant, processed, and released with a new court date scheduled for December.
Some residents along West Side Avenue say the crash highlights long-standing concerns about speeding and reckless driving on the corridor, which runs through a mix of residential and commercial blocks.
“You hear cars flying down this street all the time,” said one witness who observed the aftermath of the crash. “This time, someone got hurt and several people lost their cars. It feels like it was only a matter of time.”
The victim says they hope the upcoming court proceedings will bring accountability and renewed attention to traffic safety.
“I’m grateful to be alive, but I don’t want this to be just another case that disappears into the system,” the victim said. “I want people to understand what reckless driving can do, and I want to see real consequences so it doesn’t happen to someone else.”
Sources are revealing that the driver is an undocumented immigrant.
The investigation into the incident remains ongoing. Anyone with additional information, including dashcam or surveillance footage from the area around the time of the collision, is asked to contact local authorities.