Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Chief Stephen J. Rizco of the Highland Park Police Department announced that a count of death by auto was filed today against a Piscataway man who has been charged with killing a 6-year-old boy and injuring the child’s mother when his car jumped a curb and struck them over the weekend.
Shang Zhen Huang, 21, of Piscataway was charged during a continuing investigation into the incident. He previously was charged with two counts of aggravated assault for striking the pair on Raritan Avenue near the Columbia Street intersection in Highland Park at 3:10 p.m. on January 16, 2016.
The defendant remains in custody in lieu of $200,000 bail.
The child, identified as Chaim Kraus, and his mother, whose name is being withheld, were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where the youngster was pronounced dead.
The 37-year-old mother had been hospitalized in critical condition.
The defendant also was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries before being released to police.
An investigation by Detective Donald Heck of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and Officer Jose Curbelo of the Highland Park Police Department determined that the defendant was heading north on Raritan Avenue toward Edison, when his 2013 Lexus jumped the curb and hit the two victims as they walked on the sidewalk
The investigation is active and is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Heck of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3300, or Officer Curbelo of the Highland Park Police Department at (732) 572-3800.
As is the case with all criminal defendants, the charges against the defendant are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.