SEAVILLE – A Marmora man, who turned himself in to police as the driver in a hit-and-run accident that killed an 80-year-old pedestrian, appeared virtually in Superior Court from the Cape May County Correctional Facility Jan. 9 for a hearing to determine if he will remain there pending trial.
The hearing was postponed because discovery in the case is incomplete.
The Herald first reported the identity of the driver, Hugo Michael Maucher, who is accused of hitting and leaving the pedestrian, 80-year-old Marjorie Straubmuller, in the middle of Stagecoach Road, near Brewhause Lane, in Seaville Dec. 29, 2022.
She later died at a hospital as a result of her injuries allegedly inflicted by Maucher’s Jeep Grand Cherokee, which witnesses said then fled the scene.
Maucher, of Jill Avenue in Marmora, turned himself in to police Jan. 3 after retaining defense attorney John Tumelty, who identified his client to police as the driver in the fatal crash, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case.
Maucher, born in 1972, was charged with two second-degree crimes, including knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death and failing to render aid.
Under a New Jersey statute, it is a second-degree crime to knowingly fail to perform a duty imposed by a law intended to protect the health and safety, recklessly causing death.
Straubmuller was found lying in the northbound lane of Stagecoach Road, showing “signs of significant trauma,” around 6:28 p.m., according to court filings.
She worked for many years in the Dennis Township school system as a secretary for the Child Study Team, according to an online obituary. The obituary also said Straubmuller worked as a realtor with Carrie’s Real Estate, in Ocean City, where she met her late husband, Richard.
Straubmuller was transported by ambulance to a landing zone in Marmora, where a helicopter met first responders and flew her to Atlanticare Regional Medical Center’s Atlantic City Campus, but she succumbed to her injuries a little more than one hour and 15 minutes after state police got the 911 call.
In subsequent days, police had asked for the public’s help identifying the driver based on a description of the suspect and his vehicle and then, eventually, a police sketch, produced based on witness descriptions.
According to a preliminary investigation at the scene, Straubmuller was in the lane of traffic when she was hit by the vehicle.
Two days after the accident, on New Year’s Eve, Tumelty contacted the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and advised them that he would be representing the driver in the accident, according to court filings. Tumelty did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case.
Tumelty, a Marmora-based defense attorney, arranged with Chief Assistant Prosecutor Dara Paley to have his client turn himself in later, according to an affidavit, and the attorney arrived with Maucher at State Police Woodbine Barracks Jan. 3, five days after the crime. It was then that Maucher was arrested. Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland did not immediately respond to a request to be interviewed about this case.
According to the affidavit, Tumelty told investigators he was contacted by Maucher the day after the accident and Maucher asked for the lawyer’s help to turn himself in. Tumelty confirmed to police that it was Maucher driving the vehicle during the fatal motor vehicle crash but said his client would not provide a statement to police, the records indicate.
When Maucher arrived at the station, police observed him to be a 6-foot-5-inches tall white male, weighing about 270 pounds, with wire-rimmed glasses, and gray hair, matching the description witnesses gave of the driver who left the scene.
Further investigation revealed Maucher has a gray 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee, registered in his name, matching the description provided by various witnesses of the vehicle that left the scene.
Maucher is currently in the Cape May County Correctional Facility, pending a detention hearing, rescheduled for this week. In New Jersey, second-degree convictions can be punishable by five to 10 years in state prison and/or a fine of up to $150,000.
Straubmuller was to be laid to rest Jan. 6 at the Godfrey Funeral Home in Palermo, according to the obituary.
To contact the reporter, Shay Roddy, email sroddy@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 142.
