By: Richard L. Smith
Authorities in Essex County have announced the arrest of a Bloomfield man in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash that claimed the life of a 17-year-old Newark girl last weekend.
According to Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II and Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda, Mr. Erik Montesinos, 26, of Bloomfield, has been charged with second-degree vehicular homicide, second-degree leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death and third-degree endangering an injured victim.
The charges stem from the Sunday, August 9, 2026 crash that killed Zakiyah Dansby, 17, of Newark, near Bloomfield and Mount Prospect avenues.
Authorities said surveillance video showed Montesinos driving a gray sedan at a high rate of speed at approximately 8:52 p.m.
At the time, an unmarked Newark Police Ford Explorer was traveling westbound on Bloomfield Avenue when the gray sedan passed in the eastbound lane at a high rate of speed.
County officials said the Newark officer made a U-turn, and shortly afterward, authorities said Montesinos’ vehicle struck Dansby near the intersection of Bloomfield and Mount Prospect avenues.
According to Prosecutor Stephens officer stopped to render aid to the teen and notified the Newark Police Division of the crash. Dansby was pronounced dead at the scene.
However, witness accounts provided to RLS Media dispute that version of events.
Witnesses at the scene said the Newark police sergeant did not stop to render aid immediately after the crash, but instead continued driving and followed the vehicle involved.
Authorities said Montesinos left the area following the collision.
Mayor Baraka did say in a statment, later that evening, Montesinos contacted Newark Police Division’s Second Precinct and informed officers that he had been involved in a crash. He subsequently surrendered at the precinct.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office Fatal Police Encounter Unit responded to the scene and opened a separate investigation to determine whether Dansby’s death occurred during an encounter with law enforcement, as defined under state law and Attorney General directives.
The initial vehicular homicide investigation was handled by the New Jersey State Police with assistance from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Officials said the investigation has since been transferred entirely to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office for charging and prosecution.