Shawcrest Hit-and-Run Injures One on Route 47

SHAWCREST – Officers with the Lower Township Police Department responded to the scene of a hit and run motor vehicle accident on Route 47 in the Shawcrest section of Lower Township April 12 at 11:30 p.m.
Upon arrival, the officers met with Middle Township Police officers who were already on scene. It was learned that Ryan Carty, 27, of Court House, was walking north on Route 47 and was struck by a vehicle. The vehicle immediately fled the scene leaving the injured victim lying in the roadway. Lower Township officers searched the area and located an unoccupied 2002 Dodge Neon with extensive damage to the windshield and hood. The vehicle was located near the Rite Aid Pharmacy in Rio Grande.
During the course of the investigation, Cape May police advised Lower Township police, a female was at their police station and claimed to have hit a pedestrian on Route 47. The female, Beatriz Zacualpa-Morales, 19, of West Cape May, was brought to the Lower Township Police Department and charged with the following criminal offenses: leaving the scene of an accident with injury and endangering an injured victim, both crimes of the third degree. She was also charged with the following traffic violations: unlicensed driver, leaving the scene of an accident and failure to report an accident. At the conclusion of processing, she was released from police custody on her own recognizance.
Carty was transported to the Atlantic City Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.
The incident is still under investigation by Lower Township Police Detective Joe Boyle, Patrolman Michael Nuscis, and Special Officer James Collins.
Anyone with information about the accident is asked to contact the Lower Township Police Department at 609-886-1619, ext 107.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.