NJ teen charged with killing Wawa worker after store ‘altercation’

🔴 NJ Wawa worker hit by a pickup truck

🔴 17-year-old male driver arrested and charged

🔴 Man later died, charges upgraded

OLD BRIDGE — A 17-year-old township driver has been charged with murder after a December hit-and-run fatally injured a 61-year-old Old Bridge man outside the Wawa convenience store where he worked.

Charges were upgraded after the worker, Andrew Padulano, died last week, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone.

🔴 Wawa store worker in Old Bridge was hit by a pickup truck

Old Bridge Police were called to the Wawa on Route 34 on the morning of Dec. 4.

Around 7:41 a.m., officers found Padulano in the parking lot, seriously hurt.

Investigators found the store worker had been involved in an “altercation” with the male teenager, who then hit him with a Ford F-150 and fled the scene.

The teen — whose identity was not disclosed due to his age — was found and initially charged with attempted murder, among other offenses.

After Padulano’s death on Jan. 23, charges against the juvenile were upgraded to first-degree murder and second-degree leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.

The teen remained in home detention as of Tuesday.

He was set to return to court in February, for a status conference, according to Ciccone.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom