WOODBRIDGE – An anonymous donor has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver who struck a man on Route 1 in Woodbridge on March 23 and carried him more than two miles before he fell off of the vehicle.
The victim, 29-year-old Edison resident Caesar Arredondo, was struck while walking across Route 1 near the Route 35 overpass shortly after 3 a.m., according to a report phoned in by a couple who witnessed the accident. The force of the collision flipped him over the hood of the vehicle and he got caught in the minivan’s roof rack. The van continued driving for about two miles before Arredondo fell off on Oak Avenue, according to police.
Officers searched the area around Route 1, but were initially unable to locate the injured man. He was discovered by two college students making a late-night convenience store run, police said. Brian Christian and Brett Baginski discovered the injured man as they were driving back to Christian’s Oak Avenue home at 4:20 a.m.
“You could obviously tell he had broken bones,” Baginski said. “His right calf was snapped. It was like his whole body was swollen.” Baginski called 911 and Christian tried to talk to Arredondo, but didn’t get a response until after rescue workers arrived.
“With the extent of his injuries, and it was cold that night, it was fortunate they came along,” said police Lt. Thomas Gennarelli.
Arredondo was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick and has since been released. He underwent a series of operations for his injuries, which included two broken legs, two broken arms and severe body trauma, police said.
“We have no real leads at this point,” Gennarelli said. “We’re looking for people who may have seen something or seen the van in question.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Rich Hardish or Lt. David Bobal at (732) 634-7700 or the TIPS Hotline at (732) 855-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
