2 women ordered detained in Jackson crash that killed 9-month-old boy
The women also face immigration detainers from ICE following the crash that killed an infant and injured his mother his 5-year-old sister.
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Two women charged in connection with a Jackson Township crash that killed a 9-month-old boy were ordered detained Tuesday while their cases proceed.
A judge granted prosecutors’ motions to detain 20-year-old Maria CobonGuzman, of Trenton, and 22-year-old Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, of Toms River. Both women have been held at the Ocean County Jail since their arrests following the crash.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said CobonGuzman was driving without a valid driver's license Friday morning in the parking lot of the Jackson NPGS grocery store on West County Line Road when she struck a mother and her two young children, who were in a baby carriage.
All three were taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center. The mother and her 5-year-old daughter were in stable condition as of Saturday afternoon. Her 9-month-old son was pronounced dead at the hospital.
CobonGuzman faces charges, including reckless manslaughter, assault by auto and causing death while driving without a valid license.
Lazaro-Flores also faces charges in connection with the crash. Investigators said she knew CobonGuzman did not have a valid driver's license but allowed her to drive anyway. Lazaro-Flores faces charges related to endangering another person.
RELATED: Unlicensed driver charged in Jackson Township crash that killed 9-month-old
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it has lodged immigration detainers against both women at the Ocean County Jail.
An ICE spokesperson said CobonGuzman is a Guatemalan national who has a removal order issued by an immigration judge on July 31. ICE said that if she enters the agency's custody, she will be processed for removal under that order.
ICE said Lazaro-Flores is a Mexican national who was processed for voluntary return five times in October 2023. The agency said she would enter removal proceedings if transferred to ICE custody.
Prosecutors say 20-year-old Maria CobonGuzman got behind the wheel of her friend and coworker's car in the lot of the NPGS market where they both worked, having only driven once before just one week ago, and struck and killed the 9-month-old baby, seriously injuring two others. They were heading to Dunkin' Donuts but never got more than 10 feet.
"She determined that she was experienced enough and or qualified enough to have an unlicensed driver who only drove a week before for the first time to give her instructions on how to drive," said Judge Kimarie Rahill.
"This defendant didn't learn how to drive in an empty high school parking lot on a Saturday afternoon. This was a deliberate decision," said Ocean County assistant prosecutor Chirstopher Heisler. Prosecutors say 22-year-old Ariadna Lazaro-Flores just got her license in March. Four months prior, in November 2025, she was cited for driving without a license, without registration and without insurance. In court, it was learned through the defense that Lazaro-Flores had to back out of the spot before turning the keys over to her friend.
Defense attorneys argued both women were not flight risks and would serve at-home detention while awaiting trial.
"From the time the incident took place to the time law enforcement arrived my client didn't try to run away, didn't try to give a false name to law enforcement, didn't try to interfere anyway in the investigation," said Defense Attorney William Candia.
Judge Rahill rejected that argument, and ordered both women held in the Ocean County jail until trial.
