Little Egg Harbor Man Pleads Guilty to Fatal Pedestrian Accident

A motorist accused of striking a pedestrian on Route 9 in Waretown and driving for nearly two miles with the victim embedded in his windshield, has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, according to the Asbury Park Press.

33-year-old Marcos A. Ortega of Little Egg Harbor was in Ocean County Superior Court on March 17 and reportedly told Judge Rochelle Gizinski he didn't realize the victim was stuck on the windshield because he blacked out after drinking and smoking marijuana.

61-year-old Kenneth C. Moeller of Lacey was struck on November 10, 2014 and airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. His left leg was amputated. He died a week after being placed on life support. The married father had four adult children.

Waretown police received a call about an erratic driver on Route 9 north shortly before the accident, according to  Patrick Sheehan, Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor. Cops stopped him on Dolphin Way. Moeller was walking home from work when he was struck.

Sheehan told the Asbury Park Press he will seek an eight-year prison term for Ortega at his June 11 sentencing. Ortega's attorney, Deputy Assistant Public Defender Vita Mennie, plans to argue for a seven-year sentence, according to Sheehan.

Ortega remains in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River.