Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of 24-year-old ASHLEY ELIZABETH ANN FLORES of Garfield, NJ on charges of aggravated assault, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, and assault by auto. The arrest was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck and the Garfield Police Department under the direction of Chief Richard Uram.
On Monday, September 2, 2024, at approximately 10:20 p.m., the Garfield Police Department responded to a serious accident on Outwater Lane near Wilson Street. Responding officers located a white Jeep operated by ASHLEY ELIZABETH ANN FLORES. Officers determined that FLORES first struck a parked unoccupied vehicle and then attempted to leave the scene of the accident. While doing so, FLORES drove her car into the victim who was on foot, pinning him between her car and the vehicle she just struck. The victim was transported to an area hospital with a serious leg injury and remains hospitalized in stable condition. FLORES was also transported to an area hospital for evaluation and later released.
On Tuesday, September 3, 2024, the Garfield Police Department notified the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit of the collision, and a joint investigation was initiated. Detectives from the Garfield Police Department and Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office located ASHLEY ELIZABETH ANN FLORES at her residence and placed her under arrest. FLORES was charged with second-degree aggravated assault, N.J.S.A 2C:12-1b(1); third-degree leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, N.J.S.A 2C:12-1.1; fourth-degree assault by auto, N.J.S.A 2C: 12-1c(1); and issued several related motor-vehicle summonses. FLORES was remanded to the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack, NJ pending a detention hearing in Bergen County Superior Court.
Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations, and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He would like to thank the Garfield Police Department for its assistance in this investigation.