Baby Killed After Car Hits Mom and Children in Grocery Store Parking Lot

Two women have been charged after a car struck a mother and her two young children in a New Jersey grocery store parking lot, killing a 9-month-old baby.

The crash happened just before noon on Friday, Aug. 28, outside an NPGS grocery store in Jackson Township, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

Police were called to the scene after receiving reports that pedestrians had been hit by a vehicle.

When officers arrived, they found that a mother, her 5-year-old daughter and her 9-month-old son had all been struck by a Ford Fusion in the parking lot.

The three victims were rushed to a nearby hospital.

The infant was pronounced dead.

The mother and her 5-year-old daughter remained hospitalized in stable condition, authorities said.

Investigators identified the driver as 20-year-old Maria CobonGuzman of Trenton.

According to prosecutors, CobonGuzman did not have a valid driver’s license and had never possessed one in New Jersey or any other state.

Authorities also arrested 22-year-old Ariadna Lazaro-Flores of Toms River.

Investigators allege that Lazaro-Flores knew CobonGuzman had never held a valid driver’s license but still allowed her to drive the Ford Fusion.

Both women were taken into custody and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where they were being held pending a court hearing.

CobonGuzman has been charged with manslaughter, operating a motor vehicle without ever having possessed a valid driver’s license while involved in a fatal crash, and two counts of assault by auto.

Lazaro-Flores has been charged with knowingly engaging in conduct that created a substantial risk of death to another person.

Authorities have not released additional details about exactly how the vehicle struck the mother and children.

The deadly crash remains under investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Squad and High-Tech Crime Squad, along with the Jackson Township Police Department, Lakewood Township Police Department and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.