Unlicensed driver charged after baby killed in New Jersey car park
A 20-year-old unlicensed driver has been charged with manslaughter after allegedly ploughing her car into a mother and her two young children as they crossed a supermarket car park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, killing her nine-month-old son. The incident, which occurred on Friday outside a kosher grocery store, has also led to charges against a second woman accused of knowingly allowing the unlicensed driver to take the wheel, raising questions about accountability beyond the person behind the wheel.
Maria CobonGuzman struck Golda Chana as she pushed her baby son, Yitzhak Rosenberg, and five-year-old daughter, Rachel, in a stroller at around 11.55am, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. The baby died at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, while his mother and sister remain hospitalised in stable condition. CobonGuzman faces manslaughter and driving-related charges, while Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, 22, who allegedly knew CobonGuzman had no valid licence but let her drive her Ford Fusion regardless, has been charged with knowingly creating a substantial risk of death. Both women were arrested at the scene and are being held at Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing, with the investigation ongoing.
- Unlicensed driver kills baby, injures mother and sister in car park crash
- Driver Maria CobonGuzman, 20, charged with manslaughter and related offences
- Second woman charged with knowingly letting her drive unlicensed
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Maria CobonGuzman, 20, is accused of driving without a valid licence when her car struck a mother and her two young children in a supermarket car park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, on a Friday in August 2026. The crash killed her nine-month-old son and left his mother and five-year-old sister in hospital.
Prosecutors have also charged Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, 22, the owner of the car, alleging she knew CobonGuzman was unlicensed but let her drive anyway. This has widened the case beyond the driver herself, to the question of who else might bear responsibility for handing over the keys.
Both women were arrested at the scene and are being held in Ocean County Jail ahead of a detention hearing, with the case still under investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Mother’s worst nightmare comes true as unlicensed driver rams into her and two children in parking lot”.