NJ driver who never had a license charged after baby killed in Jackson

🚨A 9-month-old boy was struck and killed in a Jackson grocery store parking lot

🚨The driver had never been issued a valid driver's license, prosecutors say

🚨The baby's death comes days after two Trenton children died in a house fire

JACKSON — A 9-month-old boy was struck and killed in a  grocery store parking lot Friday morning, and the woman behind the wheel had never been issued a valid driver's license, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer

The baby was in a baby carriage with his five-year-old sister, being pushed by their mother in the parking lot of NPGS grocery store on West County Line Road, when they were struck by a Ford Fusion sedan around 11:55 a.m., according to Billhimer.

All three were taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where the baby was pronounced dead. The mother and her daughter remained hospitalized in stable condition as of Friday night.

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Police response to an incident at the Jackson NPGS grocery store Friday. August 28. 2026

Driver faces manslaughter charge in Jackson crash

The driver, identified by Billhimer as Maria CobonGuzman, 20, of Trenton, was charged with manslaughter, operating a motor vehicle without ever having possessed or been issued a valid driver's license while involved in a fatal motor vehicle crash, and two counts of assault by auto.

The owner of the car, Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, 22, of Toms River, was aware of CobonGuzman's license status and allowed her to drive anyway, according to Billhimer. Lazaro-Flores is charged with knowingly engaging in conduct creating a substantial risk of death to another.

They are both being held at the Ocean County Jail.

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Multi family home on Hewitt Street in Trenton after a fatal fire Wed, Aug. 26, 2026

Third Trenton child dies in separate tragedy this week

The baby is the third child from Trenton to lose their life this week.

Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora said two young children, ages 4 and 7, died in a fire on Hewitt Street in the Chambersburg section of Trenton before dawn on Wednesday. One was on the first floor and the other was on the second floor.

A GoFundMe campaign has been created by a family member to help the family recover from the fire.

Two firefighters also suffered non-life-threatening burns and smoke inhalation. The fire affected an adjacent home, causing a total of 10 people to be displaced.

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