OLD BRIDGE – A 31-year-old Township woman has been charged with child endangerment after she allegedly left four children unattended early on Sunday when a fire broke out at a flat in Cottonwood Lane.
Two of the children were injured in the fire.
Estela Onofre-Maceda, who has been charged with seven counts of endangering the welfare of a child, was arrested on Sunday and is being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center in northern Brunswick in awaiting a remand hearing, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said. .
Onofre-Maceda also allegedly left three children unattended in the apartment overnight the same weekend. The prosecutor’s office did not say whether she is the children’s mother.
At around 6:40 a.m. on Sunday, police received a 911 call about a fire at an apartment in Cottonwood Lane.
When the police arrived, they found four children who had been left unattended in the apartment. Two of the children were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for treatment of their injuries. Information on the extent of the children’s injuries and their condition was not immediately available.
The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Middlesex County Fire Marshal and the Township of Old Bridge Fire Department.
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An investigation by Old Bridge Detective Anthony Mottola and Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit Detective Daniela Castro found Onofre-Maceda allegedly left four minors unattended in the early hours morning of June 25 when the fire broke out.
The investigation also revealed that Onofre-Maceda allegedly left three minors unattended on the night of June 23 until the early morning hours of June 24.
The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Old Bridge Detective Mottola at 732-721-5600 Ext. 3232 or Detective Castro of the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office at 732-745-3652.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, the courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Old Bridge woman charged with leaving children unattended in apartment fire