9-Month-Old Baby Killed After Unlicensed Driver Hits Family in NJ Grocery Store Parking Lot

A 9-month-old baby boy was killed after a driver struck a mother and her two young children in a Jackson Township grocery store parking lot, authorities say.

Jackson police responded to the NPGS grocery store on West County Line Road around 11:55 a.m. Friday.

According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, a mother was walking through the parking lot with her 5-year-old daughter and 9-month-old son in a baby carriage when they were struck by a Ford Fusion.

All three were rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center. The baby was pronounced dead at the hospital, while his mother and 5-year-old sister were reported in stable condition.

Authorities say the driver, 20-year-old Maria CobonGuzman of Trenton, had never possessed a valid driver’s license in New Jersey or any other state.

She has been charged with manslaughter, two counts of assault by auto and operating a vehicle without ever having possessed a valid license while involved in a fatal crash.

A second woman, 22-year-old Ariadana Lazaro-Flores of Toms River, was also charged after investigators alleged she knew CobonGuzman had never been licensed but allowed her to drive anyway.

Both women were taken to the Ocean County Jail pending detention hearings.

The crash remains under investigation.