Edison Man Charged in Fatal Piscataway Accident

An Edison man has been arrested and charged with causing the death of his passenger following a diner break-in and police chase in Piscataway Thursday morning.

Around 5:42 a.m. Thursday, police responded to a report of a break-in at the Fontainbleau Diner on Stelton Road, where they found two men fleeing the scene, according to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

The suspects got into a 1998 Nissan Pathfinder and allegedly attempted to run down a police officer, who jumped out the way and was not injured, the release said.

The vehicle fled on Stelton Road and officers lost sight of it, the report said.

At 6:48 a.m., police received a call from a resident who said a stranger had come to their door seeking help. Upon arrival, they found one of the two suspects on Brookside Road, identified as Troy Hafesh, 43 of Edison, and arrested him, the report said. 

Police located the Pathfinder approximately 10 minutes later, crashed in the parking lot of the former Charlie Brown's restaurant on South Washington Avenue, with the passenger deceased.

The 43-year-old passenger was pronounced dead at 10:20 a.m. Thursday. His identity is being withheld as authorities notify his next of kin.

Investigators have determined that Hafesh allegedly drove to Metlars Lane following the diner break-in, crashed the car in the lot and ran away.

Hafesh has been charged with aggravated manslaughter of the passenger, burglary, eluding police, causing the death of the man while driving with a suspended license, leaving the scene of the crash, and the attempted murder of a police officer for the officer who tried to stop the vehicle as the suspects fled the diner, according to the release.

He is is jailed on $500,000 bail.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Joseph Reilly of the Piscataway Police Department at (732) 562-2364, or Investigator Scott Crocco of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-4471.