A 52-year-old man charged in a hit-and-run crash in South Jersey lied to authorities about who was driving when his car struck a man walking his dog, killing the animal and inflicting severe injuries on the pet owner, authorities say.
Absecon police said Thursday they’ve now charged 20-year-old Amir Jones with leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury after investigatorsalleged he was actually driving at the time both the man and dog were hit.
Police initially charged Amir Jones’s father, Byron Jones, of Mays Landing, with offenses for driving the motor vehicle. He is instead now charged with hindering and making false statements to investigators, police said.
Attorney information for both men wasn’t available to NJ Advance Media.
Amir Jones, of Mays Landing, also faces charges of striking the animal, failure to report a crash and numerous traffic violations, police said.
The pet owner, a 25-year-old Absecon resident, was hospitalized after being hit by Amir Jones’s car on Nov. 30. The man and his dog were walking near Highland Boulevard and Marlborough Avenue when they were hit, police said previously.
The man was left at the scene with life-threatening injuries, and his dog was killed by the impact, police said.
Police did not comment on what led them to believe Amir Jones was actually driving, but said they used “digital forensic analysis along with traditional investigative methods,” to investigate the case.
Byron Jones was arrested during a traffic stop after a motorist passing through the crash site dialed 911.
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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.
