TOMS RIVER – A Seaside Park woman accused of striking and killing Shady Rest owner Robert “Bob” Popovics in a 2024 crash in Seaside Heights has reached a plea agreement in Ocean County Superior Court, admitting responsibility for reckless vehicular homicide.
Genell McInnaw pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless vehicular homicide during a hearing before Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer. As part of the negotiated agreement, Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke indicated that the state would seek a sentence of five years in New Jersey State Prison. The agreement is subject to the No Early Release Act, which requires defendants to serve 85 percent of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
Under that framework, McInnaw would be required to serve approximately four years and three months before being considered for release. Judge Palmer also made clear that he is not bound by the recommended sentence and could impose up to ten years in prison under state law.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 26.
The plea resolves the most serious charge stemming from the September 23, 2024 crash in Seaside Heights that ultimately led to the death of Popovics, a Marine veteran, fly-fishing expert and longtime owner of the Shady Rest restaurant in Berkeley Township.
According to authorities, police responded around 9:30 p.m. to the intersection of Boulevard and Dupont Avenue after receiving reports that a person was lying in the roadway. Popovics had been attempting to cross the street when he was struck by a vehicle. He suffered severe internal injuries and a broken shoulder and was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.
Popovics died from those injuries on November 1, prompting prosecutors to upgrade the charges against McInnaw.
It was ultimately determined that McInnaw had been employed at the Shady Rest restaurant and did not realize the pedestrian she struck that night was Popovics, her employer.
Toxicology testing obtained by investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit Vehicular Homicide Squad showed that McInnaw’s blood alcohol concentration measured .187 when her blood was drawn. A forensic expert retained by the State estimated that her BAC at the time of the crash would have been approximately .21. Under New Jersey law, drivers are considered legally intoxicated when their blood alcohol concentration reaches .08 or higher.
Earlier in the case, McInnaw had been indicted on charges including vehicular homicide, strict liability vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
During the plea hearing, prosecutors confirmed that several additional counts and motor vehicle summonses will be dismissed as part of the agreement, while McInnaw will also plead guilty to a related driving-under-the-influence offense.
The case drew significant attention throughout the Jersey Shore fishing and restaurant communities, where Popovics was widely known for his contributions to fly fishing and his decades of work at the Shady Rest.
In a brief interview following the hearing, McInnaw’s defense attorney, Terrance Turnbach, said his client acknowledges the gravity of what happened.
“Ms. McInnaw accepts the responsibility for her actions on the night of September 23, 2024. There are no words to express the extreme remorse she feels for the family of Robert Popovics,” Turnbach said.
The post Plea Deal Reached In Crash That Killed Shady Rest Owner appeared first on Jersey Shore Online.