Toms River- Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on April 13, 2021, Kevin Noonan, 62, of Manchester, was charged with Knowingly Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident Resulting in Death. Noonan allegedly struck and killed a pedestrian while driving a vehicle in Whiting.

According to the report, at approximately 3:45 p.m. on April 13, 2021, the Manchester Township Police Department responded to a residence on Yorktowne Parkway in Whiting for a report of a pedestrian having been struck by a motor vehicle. Responding Officers found Jack Gotfried, 69, of Whiting, laying in the roadway with traumatic injuries to his lower extremities. Mr. Gotfried was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased.

An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit and Manchester Township Police Department Detective Bureau revealed that Noonan had stopped at Mr. Gotfried’s residence to pick up furniture that Mr. Gotfried was giving away. In the course of loading the furniture onto Noonan’s vehicle, Noonan allegedly backed his vehicle up at a high rate of speed and struck Mr. Gotfried – pinning him between the rear of the vehicle and a truck parked in front of the residence. Noonan then allegedly fled the scene, leaving Mr. Gotfried injured in the roadway. A short time later, Noonan was found walking in the area of Western Boulevard in Lacey Township, where he was apprehended by a Detective from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. Noonan was transported to Manchester Township Police Headquarters, where he was processed and consented to a draw of his blood; the blood draw was subsequently taken at Community Medical Center in Toms River. Noonan is currently lodged in the Ocean County Jail, pending a detention hearing.