Authorities are looking for a driver who struck a and critically injured a pedestrian in Toms River, and fled the scene.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Toms River Police Department Officer in Charge Peter Sundack announced that on September 21, 2024, at approximately 9:38 p.m., Officers from the Toms River Township Police Department responded to the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Mobile Lane for a report of a pedestrian having been struck by a motor vehicle.
An investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Toms River Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, determined that a vehicle was traveling northbound on Massachusetts Avenue when it struck a pedestrian and fled the area. The victim was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where he is listed in critical but stable condition.
Continuing investigation has revealed that the vehicle which struck the victim is believed to be a blue in color Volkswagen sedan. The vehicle will likely have front driver side damage and a broken driver side rearview mirror.
Anyone in possession of information regarding this incident is urged to contact Detective Andrew Hartnett of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027, extension 3790, or Patrolman Adam Koeppen of the Toms River Township Police Department at 732-349-0150.
There is no sidewalk or crosswalk in that area. The road only has space for cars, meaning all other road users have no priority or opportunity to use it safely.
The fault of this incident, if we must blame anyone, is not that of the driver (thought they definitely shouldn’t have driven away). It’s the engineers who planned for this type of development to be built in this way, and the members of government who greenlit it.
Sprawl kills people, especially people outside cars. Grid plans with mixed rather than exclusionary zoning (where all the land uses are separated), and wide sidewalks are much safer and economically sustainable.
In addition, having a well-lit intersection at night can mean the difference between life and death.
How does a northbound driver hit a pedestrian on his driver’s side if the pedestrian was supposed to be walking on the shoulder? Either the pedestrian was walking in the middle of the road (when he should have been on the side), or if the pedestrian was walking on the west side of the road, the driver had to have driven literally in the opposite side of oncoming traffic!
Or maybe the pedestrian was in the middle of crossing the street when this happened…
That’s exactly my point!
The way the street is currently designed makes it unsafe for all road users, but especially pedestrians. Those on a bike are not much better off, and even people in cars, while given priority, have to deal with multiple conflict points with low visibility.
Anyone who wants to cross the street in this area has to make a blind dash in the dark, on a road where drivers are going 45-50 mph – speeds that can instantly kill a person.
As I mentioned in my original comment, there is no space carved out here for someone to walk or bike safely – as in, away from speeding metal boxes on wheels. A crosswalk only helps if it os made visible to drivers and has a clear line of sight curb-to-curb. That means installing a streetlight.
Don’t wear dark clothes at night time