A 38-year-old New Brunswick man is dead after a driver struck him and sped away Sunday evening, and investigators are now scouring the city for a silver 2011 Kia Soul they believe was involved. Naim Chirino was hit around 7:23 p.m. at the intersection of Remsen Avenue and Seamen Street, a crash that left him unconscious in the roadway before he died at the hospital.
According to NJTODAY.NEWS, detectives with the New Brunswick Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Crash Investigation Unit have identified the vehicle of interest as a silver 2011 Kia Soul hatchback bearing New Jersey license plate M32VNN. Officials said the car fled the scene immediately after striking Chirino, and authorities are now working to locate the hatchback and identify its driver. Middlesex County Prosecutor Linda Estremera and New Brunswick Police Chief Vincent Sabo have both been named in connection with the ongoing investigation, which remains active.
Responding officers arrived after a 911 call and found Chirino lying unconscious in the street, according to Patch. Emergency personnel rushed him to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. The report notes that the circumstances leading up to the collision, including whether the driver attempted to stop, have not been detailed by investigators.
Police Ask Public to Help Track Down the Kia
Detectives have issued a public appeal for information on the whereabouts of the silver Kia Soul, as reported by NJ 101.5. Anyone with information about the crash or the vehicle's location is asked to contact Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Det. James Barnes at 732-745-3437 or New Brunswick Police Officer Andy Rodriguez at 732-745-5200. Whether the car was stolen, where it may have gone after fleeing, or whether nearby surveillance cameras captured the crash remain open questions in the investigation.
The intersection where Chirino was killed is not unfamiliar to major police responses. Remsen Avenue and Seamen Street was also the site of an active homicide investigation following a fatal shooting there in November 2021, per Patch's earlier reporting. Remsen Avenue itself functions as a key corridor linking residential neighborhoods to downtown New Brunswick and Rutgers University, and it has been a focal point for pedestrian safety efforts including Street Smart NJ and New Brunswick Ciclovia, according to Keep Middlesex Moving.
Severe Penalties Await If Driver Is Found
Should investigators identify the driver, the legal exposure is steep. Under New Jersey statute N.J.S.A. 2C:11-5.1, knowingly leaving the scene of a fatal accident is a second-degree felony carrying five to 10 years in state prison, and that sentence is required to run consecutively to any additional vehicular homicide charges, according to Justia Law. Beyond criminal exposure, New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Code imposes criminal penalties for fleeing a fatal crash, including fines between $2,500 and $5,000, up to 180 days in jail, and a mandatory one-year license revocation for a first offense, per FindLaw.
A County With a Troubling Traffic Safety Record
Chirino's death adds to a grim pattern in Middlesex County, which registered 60 traffic fatalities in preliminary 2024 crash data, the highest total among all 21 New Jersey counties that year, according to James Vasquez Law. Statewide, the picture has improved somewhat: New Jersey recorded 175 pedestrian fatalities in 2025, a nearly 24% decrease from 230 pedestrian deaths in 2024, based on state highway safety figures cited by the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation in January 2025 creating the Target Zero Commission, which coordinates ten state agencies toward a goal of eliminating all New Jersey traffic and pedestrian deaths by 2040, according to the NJ Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center.
