Additional Indictment Issued in Branchburg Hit-and-Run Incident

John Palazzo, 24, of Gemini Drive, has been charged with obstructing the investigation of the March 17 incident that led to assault by auto and other charges against Clint Benson, of Hillsborough, Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano announced Friday.

Soriano said Palazzo was indicted on charges of obstructing the administration of law, and hindering apprehension or prosecution for his alleged false information given to investigators following the incident in Branchburg.

According to the prosecutor's office, Palazzo was a passenger in Benson's truck on March 13 when he allegedly struck Richard Lachner, of Flemington, on Woodfern Road, in Branchburg, after Lachner had reportedly confronted Benson about his reckless driving at about 2:59 a.m.

After the confrontation, Soriano said Lachner began walking to a nearby restaurant when Benson ran into Lachenr from behind, then continued on Woodfern Road before crashing into a guardrail at the corner of Lehigh and Woodfern roads. The truck was inoperable after the crash, and Benson and Palazzo were found inside the vehicle.

Lachner was taken to Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center's trauma unit by Branchburg Rescue Squad volunteers and members of the Somerset Medical Center paramedics after he was found on the roadway with internal injuries, a fractured skull, a broken hand and lacerations about his body.

On June 20, Benson was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon (his truck) for an unlawful purpose, possession of hollow point bullets, and endangering an injured victim.

No court date has yet been set for Palazzo.