Two people have died after an unlicensed juvenile crashed into another vehicle on Friday night. The crash occurred in Toms River at the intersection of Route 166 and Route 37 a short while after police attempted to stop the vehicle for speeding.
The vehicle, a white BMW, was first noticed by Toms River police officers traveling eastbound over the Thomas A. Mathis Bridge at a high rate of speed at approximately 10:45 p.m. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but it continued traveling northbound on Route 35 at a high rate of speed. Due to safety concerns, officers terminated the pursuit and notified law enforcement in neighboring towns of the offending vehicle. A short time later, the same BMW was observed traveling southbound on Route 35 by Seaside Heights police officers at approximately 118 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone. Toms River Township police units were stationed on the westbound side of the J. Stanley Tunney Bridge, where they observed the BMW continue to travel at a high rate of speed westbound on Route 37 and began following it.
Just minutes later, the BMW crashed into a Toyota Camry at the intersection of Route 37 and Route 166, killing the driver and front-seat passenger of the Camry. Two backseat passengers in the Camry were severely injured and transported by helicopter to Jersey Shore University Medical Center (JSUMC) in Neptune for treatment of their injuries, where they are both listed in critical condition. The driver of the BMW was uninjured and was detained by police. The front-seat passenger in the BMW was transported to JSUMC, where he was treated and released. The backseat passenger in the BMW was transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where he was likewise treated and released.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad and Toms River Township Police Department revealed that the driver of the BMW was a juvenile and did not possess a valid New Jersey driver’s license. In furtherance of the investigation, the juvenile was transported to Community Medical Center, where a draw of his blood was obtained pursuant to a court-authorized warrant. The results of the blood draw remain pending.
The juvenile was processed at Toms River Township Police Headquarters and is currently lodged at the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center. He is being charged with Aggravated Manslaughter, four counts of Aggravated Assault Causing Bodily Injury while Eluding, two counts of Death by Auto, two counts of Causing Death While Driving Unlicensed, two counts of Causing Injury While Driving Unlicensed, two counts of Aggravated Assault Manifesting Extreme Indifference to the Value of Human Life, Eluding, and four counts of Assault by Auto, all in connection with a series of incidents that occurred in Toms River, Seaside Heights, and Lavallette during the evening hours of March 7, 2025.
Prosecutor Billhimer commends the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Toms River Township Police Department, Seaside Heights Police Department, Lavallette Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit for their combined and collaborative efforts in connection with this investigation.
