Man surrenders in hit-and-run that put Montclair student in coma

Police have arrested and charged a North Arlington man in connection with a hit-and-run accident that left a 22-year-old Montclair State University student in a coma.

Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes in a statement said Michael Choynowski, 27, was charged with knowingly leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury and endangering an injured victim. He is being held on bail by Clifton police.

Anna Semioli of Moonachie was struck as she walked along Route 46 eastbound near Valley Road in Clifton in the early morning hours of Friday, Oct. 8. She has remained in a coma ever since the incident.

Clifton Police Detective Sgt. Robert Bracken told New Jersey 101.5 that Choynowski's lawyer arranged for his client's surrender on Thursday, and that he was driving a black Dodge Ram pickup after leaving a McDonald's drive-thru.

Bracken had said that Choynowski was not likely under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Clifton Police has issued an alert on Wednesday looking for a black pickup, possible a Ford F150, with front-end damage.

"Thank you so much everyone for sharing all of our posts. The person who struck my sister has turned himself in," wrote Anna's sister Gina Semioli, on her Facebook page."We now need to continue to pray for Annie!!!! It still does not change all the pain we are going through. My sister is still fighting for her life!!!"

Montclair State University Police also updated students and staff of Choynowski's arrest and urged anyone who witnessed the incident to contact the prosecutor's office.

"We will continue to work closely with the Passaic Prosecutor’s Office and the Clifton Police Department to create a time-line of events that led to this accident." reads an email from campus police. "We urge anyone with information, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, to come forward and speak with investigators."

Melissa Rivera contributed to this report