Three of the crashes this weekend occurred in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
At least six people were killed in five crashes during a deadly weekend on New Jersey roadways.
Only one of the collisions reported happened on an interstate highway. Most of the incidents happened on local roads, with the brunt of them occurring in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
The aftermath of a two-vehicle crash on the Garden State Parkway Saturday afternoon in Aberdeen. (User submitted photo)Conditions on most roads remained dry during the weekend despite reports of flurries in some areas of the state on Saturday. It does not appear that weather was a major contributing factor in the preliminary information released on the crashes.
The tragic weekend started around 5:45 p.m. in Lakewood when a 55-year-old township woman was struck and killed by a sport utility vehicle that fled the scene. Hours later, authorities located and arrested the driver, police announced on Sunday.
Also on Friday night, one person died in a crash on Port Reading Avenue in Woodbridge. Police have released little information, including the identity of the driver, on the incident.
In Jackson, township resident Shane R. Stewart, 25, was killed after his vehicle veered off Freehold Road and hit a tree around 2 a.m. on Saturday, police said.
The deadliest crash of the weekend occurred on Saturday afternoon on the Garden State Parkway in Aberdeen. New Jersey State Police said two people were killed when their Chevrolet Camaro stopped in the center lanes of the Parkway. A GMC Yukon collided into the Camaro killing its two occupants -- Kyia Fredericks, 25, of Brick, and Rene Munoz, 29, of Toms River.
On Sunday evening, a 47-year-old Irvington woman was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver on Springfield Avenue in Newark.
The other four crashes happened in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties. Those counties were among the top five counties with the most fatal crashes in 2016. Monmouth County was ranked second - behind Burlington County - with 46 crashes that killed 49 motorists in 2016.
Overall, data compiled by the State Police shows that 607 people died in traffic crashes on New Jersey roadways in 2016, an 8-percent uptick from 2015 and the most deaths seen since 2011.
A state police analysis of 2015 fatal crashes, released earlier this month, showed a continuing trend where distracted driving was the leading factor in deadly collisions, followed by alcohol use and speeding.
-- Staff writers Jeff Goldman and Larry Higgs contributed to this report.
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.