Two Men Charged for Leaving the Scene of Crashes

The dealt with two reported cases of drivers leaving motor vehicle accident scenes on New Year's Eve.

According to police spokesperson Patrolman Earl Kinsey, the first incident involved a reported hit-and-run crash near a home on Ronald Avenue in Lake Hiawatha. 

At about 2 a.m., Officers Ronald Carrozzino and Thomas Dinkelspiel responded to the scene and began a search for a vehicle fitting a police description of one believed to have veered off the road and into the porch of a Ronald Avenue home.

Carrozzino spotted the vehicle in the parking lot of the North Beverwyck Road 7-Eleven at Lake Shore Drive. According to the police report, the vehicle's front driver's side had fresh damage.

Officer Dinkelspiel went to the Ronald Avenue address and inspected the damage to the porch there, police said. According to Kinsey, Dinkelspiel found a piece of vehicle molding near the porch and reportedly matched it to the damaged vehicle parked at the 7-Eleven lot.

The driver of the vehicle, Denville resident Russell Bagnall, 29, received summonses for leaving the scene of an accident, failing to report the accident and reckless driving.

Kinsey added that Bagnall, found to have an outstanding and active arrest warrant out of Sparta Municipal Court, was placed under arrest. The Denville man was later released pending court dates, police said.

In the second case, police arrested a Toms River man on suspicion of driving while intoxicated after a reported motor vehicle accident Saturday night at the intersection of Lake Hiawatha's Knoll and North Beverwyck roads.

Kinsey reported that Officer Robert Appel responded to the scene of the crash at just after 8 p.m., and saw a gray four-door Jeep missing a front bumper and license plate sitting in the intersection facing a curb.

Police said that about 10 minutes prior to Appel being dispatched to the Hiawatha scene, there was a report of a hit-and-run accident in Montville. During a brief investigation, the officer realized that the description of the Montville vehicle, according to authorities, matched the description of the damaged gray Jeep.

Appel put the Jeep's driver, 46-year-old Michael Romano, under arrest. The man was released and faces charges of DWI and refusing to submit to breath samples.

Police said Romano faces additional charges with the .