A 40-year-old California man has been charged in a township hit and run on Dec. 29 that killed a man riding an electric bike, according to the Burlington County prosecutor and Police Chief Timothy Hudnall.
Thair Maroki, of El Cajon, was charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
Surveillance footage from several area businesses and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority determined that the victim, 49-year-old Anthony Caprio III of Magnolia, was struck in the 1100 block of Route 73 South by a white 2022 Jeep Cherokee that fled, according to Hudnall.
When police responded at about 12:15 a.m. they found Caprio on the shoulder of the roadway. He was pronounced dead at the scene. An alert was issued that included the California license plate number of Maroki’s vehicle, eventually located on New Year’s Day by the Lyndhurst Police Department in Bergen County.
Maroki was taken into custody the following day and transported to the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly, where he remains after a first appearance in Superior Court on Jan. 2. The prosecutor indicated that the case will be presented to a grand jury for possible indictment.
