Hit & run driver turns himself in
WEST LONG BRANCH — The driver of a car that stuck a motorcycle in a hit-and-run accident on Route 36 has turned himself into police.
Capt. Michael Hanaway said Donald LaBella, 68, of Oneida Avenue in Oceanport admitted on July 3 that he was the driver of a Mercedes-Benz that struck the rear of a motorcycle ridden by Stephen A. Ivory, 29, of Long Branch, while both were traveling eastbound on Route 36 at 11:12 p.m. on June 29. The accident occurred about 1,000 feet east of Monmouth Road.
Hanaway said Ivory, who was riding a 1991 Suzuki motorcycle, complained of pain in the neck after the accident and was taken to Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch.
He said La Bella was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, failure to report an accident and careless driving.
Police knew from the debris found in the road that it was a Mercedes that hit Ivory, he added.
— Sherry Conohan