Free furniture pickup turns deadly in Manchester

MANCHESTER — A homeowner helping a man take furniture that he had put out on the curb was struck and killed Tuesday afternoon when the man backed over him before leaving the scene, officials said.

Jack Gotfried, 69, who lived on Yorktowne Parkway in the Crestwood Village, was helping Kevin Noonan, 62, load the furniture onto Noonan's vehicle around 3:45 p.m.

Noonan got in his car, quickly backed up and pinned Gotfried against a truck, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer. Noonan then left, leaving Gotfried in the street, Billhimer said.

Police arrived to find Gotfried with serious injuries to his lower body and had him flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, were he was pronounced dead.

Noonan was found a short time later by a detective from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office walking in the area of Western Boulevard in Lacey.

At the Manchester police station, Noonan allowed blood to be drawn for analysis. Noonan was being held Wednesday at the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Noonan was charged with knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death as well as driving with a suspended driver’s license during a deadly accident.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ