Little Egg Harbor Man Charged in Death of 13-Year-Old Pedestrian

A Little Egg Harbor man has been charged with vehicular homicide in the death of Emilee LaFerriere, the 13-year-old girl struck and killed while walking with a friend in Little Egg on Easter Sunday, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Prosecutors say Timothy Hettinger, 47, was drunk when he hit LaFerriere shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday on Radio Road near the intersection of Basswood Lake Road in the Mystic Island section of the township.

According to a story on APP.com Monday, LaFerriere was walking in the residential area with another 13-year-old girl when she was struck. Rescuers were unable to revive her, and she was pronounced dead at approximately 10:30 p.m., prosecutors said in a press release issued today.

Based on field sobriety tests and the observations of officers at the scene, police determined Hettinger was over the legal limit, Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford said in the release.

"This appears to be yet another tragic death caused by the toxic combination of alcohol and motor vehicle operation," said Ford. "Emilee’s life has been senselessly taken, a family has been shattered, and everyone in the community has suffered a painful loss."

Prosecutors are asking residents with any information on the accident to contact Det. Craig Ally of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, 732-929-2027, or Sgt. Scott Nino of the Little Egg Harbor Police Department, 609-296-3666.