A Carteret man has been arrested following a crash he was involved in that took the life of a Kearny man in West Hudson Park earlier this year, Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello said.
On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, members of the Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit arrested the driver involved in that fatal collision, Zaire Ferguson, 27, and charged him with death by auto, a crime of the second degree; assault by auto, a crime of the third degree; causing death while driving suspended, a crime of the third degree; and causing serious bodily injury while driving suspended, a crime of the fourth degree.
He was arrested at the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in Secaucus and transported to the Hudson County Correctional Jail, South Kearny, pending a first court appearance. He remains in custody as of now.
At approximately 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office was notified of two pedestrians struck on Woodland Drive in West Hudson Park. Responding officers located two male victims, who were transported to University Hospital in Newark with serious injuries.
The driver and striking vehicle remained at the scene.
Gary Gross, 58, of Kearny, was pronounced deceased Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.