A Bayonne man has been sentenced to five years in prison for fleeing the scene of an accident where a Jersey City man died, according to Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez.
On Friday, Dec. 17, Hudson County Superior Court Judge John Young, Jr. sentenced James Nichols, 51, of Bayonne, to five years in New Jersey State Prison. The sentence includes a consecutive two-year driver’s license suspension.
Nichols was sentenced for second-degree leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death related to the death of John Hagans, 50, of Jersey City. On Oct. 25, he pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree leaving the scene of an accident resulting in the death of Hagans.
Fatal hit-and-run
On September 10, 2020, Nichols was driving a Ford F-150 in Bayonne at a high rate of speed when he struck Hagans in the area of Avenue C and 25th Street and then left the scene. He was later arrested and charged by members of the Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit.
The Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit, with assistance from the Bayonne Police Department, investigated the case. The state was represented by Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Baginski from the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit.
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