A traffic stop turned deadly on Route 55 — and a 5-year-old was left walking alone

🚨A woman fleeing a Route 55 traffic stop in Mantua Township early Monday

🚨A 5-year-old was found walking along the highway and taken to a hospital.

🚨It's the fifth fatal crash on Route 55 this year and the second in the past week.

MANTUA TOWNSHIP — A woman was killed when she tried to flee a traffic stop early Monday morning.

The initial stop was made just before midnight on Route 55 south near Exit 45 (Buck Road). Troopers found out the driver had several warrants out on him and removed him from the car, law enforcement sources told New Jersey 101.5. While a Mantua Township police officer stood with the driver outside the vehicle another officer ordered the woman sitting in the backseat to also get out, according to Gloucester County Prosecutor Andrew Johns.

Instead, the woman, later identified as Holly Hageman, 41,  got behind the wheel and sped off with a 5-year-old in the car. The driver was taken to Mantua police headquarters. The identity of the driver and his relationship to the child and Hageman was not disclosed

Hageman was found by a New Jersey State Police trooper about three miles away after she drove into a tree and flipped the car over. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The law enforcement source said the 5-year-old was found walking along the dark highway and taken to a hospital.

Gloucester County lawmakers seek answers about Route 55 fatalities

It's the second fatal crash on Route 55 in the past week and the fifth of the year, according to State Police records.  A person was killed in a head-on crash in Mantua on July 13, according to State Police.

Gloucester County officials asked Transportation Commissioner Priya Jain to look at 10 fatal crashes on the road since 2022 to better understand factors contributing to the crashes.

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