Year in review: July 2015

Toni Marletta
photo via facebook

Marissa Procopio, 15, of Atlantic Highlands was struck and killed on July 7 by a hit and run driver on Rt 36 in the Leonardo section of Middletown. Toni Ann Marletta, 49, of Leonardo was arrested and charged with Leaving the Scene of a Fatal Accident, No Insurance, and other Motor Vehicle offenses on July 15.  Marletta was released from the custody of the Monmouth County Correctional Institution on August 4 after Judge Francis Vernoia allowed her to post 10% of her 150,000 bail. She remains free on bail pending trial.

The Procopio family filed a wrongful death suit against Marletta in December.

Leo Cervantes, the owner of Chilango’s Mexican Restaurant in Highlands and LaPlaya in Keansburg, was surprised to see himself featured in Governor Chris Christie’s first television commercial of the 2016 GOP presidential race.  Cervantes was part of Christie’s Hispanic outreach in the 2013 gubernatorial campaign, but said he never heard from the presidential campaign and that he has not decided who to support for president.

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Hit And Run Driver Marletta Released On Bail

Toni Marletta
photo via facebook

Toni Ann Marletta, the 49 year old Leonardo woman charged in the July 8th hit and run incident which resulted in the death of Marissa Procopio, a 15 year old girl from Atlantic Highlands, was released from the Monmouth County Correctional Institution on Tuesday August 4 after posting $15,000, or 10% of her $150,000 bail.

Marletta was arrested on July 15 and charged with Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident, Failing to Report a Motor Vehicle Accident, No Insurance, Unsafe Tires and Leaving the Scene of a Fatal Motor Vehicle Accident. Her bail was set at $150,000.00 with no 10% option set by Judge Honora O’Brien-Kilgallen of the Monmouth County Superior Court.

Marletta’s bail was modified to allow a 10% option by Judge Francis Vernoia on July 23.  She posted $15,000 on August 4th and was released from custody.

Marletta’s trial date will be set after she is indicted by a Grand Jury.

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Prosecutor: Investigation Into Hit and Run Death Is Ongoing, Additional Charges Are Possible

Toni Ann Marletta, photo via facebook

A “robust and aggressive” investigation into the hit and run death of 15 year old Marissa Procopio is ongoing.  It is possible that additional charges…assault by auto or vehicular homicide…could be filed against Toni Ann Marletta, said Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni in an interview with MoreMonmouthMusings last week.

Marletta has been incarcerated at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution since July 15 after being charged with Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident, Failing to Report a Motor Vehicle Accident, No Insurance, Unsafe Tires and Leaving the Scene of a Fatal Motor Vehicle Accident July 6th incident on Route 36 in the Leonardo section of Middletown Township which resulted in the death of Procopio.  Her bail is $150,000 with no 10% option.

The Middletown Police Department identified Marletta as the driver of the vehicle that struck Procopio and fled the scene within hours of the incident.

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Hit and Run Driver Arrested

Toni Marletta
photo via facebook

Middletown Police have charged Toni Ann Marletta, 49 of the Leonardo section of the Township, in the hit and run motor vehicle crash that resulted in the death in Marissa Procopia, 15 of Atlantic Highlands.

Marletta was charged with Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident, Failing to Report a Motor Vehicle Accident, No Insurance, Unsafe Tires and Leaving the Scene of a Fatal Motor Vehicle Accident. She is being held on $150,000.00 bail with no 10% option set by Judge Honora O’Brien-Kilgallen of the Monmouth County Superior Court.

Marletta is not listed yet as an inmate on the Monmouth County Sheriff’s website, as of 1 p.m.

Charles Webster, spokesperson for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, told MMM that Marletta was being held in Middletown where she was unable to post bail.  Webster said she in custody and being transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution.

Cynthia Scott, spokesperson for the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, told MMM that Marletta was booked into the Correctional Institution at about 1:30 p.m.

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Hit and Run Victim, 15, Is On Life Support

Marissa Procopio photo via facebook

Marissa Procopio, the 15 year old Atlantic Highlands girl who was struck by a hit and run driver in Middletown on Tuesday, is on life support at Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune.  Previous published reports said she had died of her injuries on Wednesday afternoon at 3:46.

An official of the Henry Hudson Regional High School District who asked not to be named for this story told MoreMonmouthMusings that Marissa’s family was informed by her doctor that there was no blood flowing to her brain and that there was no hope of recovery. The family has chosen to keep Marissa on a life sustaining ventilator for two days in order that family members can travel to say good-bye, according to the school official.  The official said that the high school principal visited Marissa at the hospital on Wednesday at 5:45 pm, two hours after the reported death.

Robert Cavanaugh, spokesperson for Jersey Shore Medical Center, declined to confirm Marissa’s condition, citing HIPAA regulations that the hospital’s policy against commenting on the condition of minors.   An telephone operator a Jersey Shore said that Marissa is patient in the Intensive Care Unit.

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Atlantic Highlands Girl, 15, Succumbs To Hit And Run Injuries

UPDATED: As of Thursday morning, Marissa is still on life support at Jersey Shore Medical Center

A 15 year old Atlantic Highlands girl who was struck by a hit and run driver Tuesday evening on Route 36 in the Leonardo section of Middletown died as a result of her injuries this afternoon, according to a report in The Two River Times.

Marissa Procopio was crossing the highway at the intersection of Ave D at approximately 8:25 pm when she was stuck by a light grey compact car traveling west.  The car fled the scene before police arrived.  Marissa was transported via Medivac helicopter to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune.  She succumbed to her injuries at 3:46 this afternoon.

A review of videotape of provided by local business owner Michael D’Alessio resulted in the Middletown Police to announce that the vehicle which struck Marissa was driven by Toni Marletta, 49, of Leonardo.

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