13-05-2025
Toms River man charged in horrific, airborne crash in Lakewood that killed passenger
LAKEWOOD - A 52-year-old woman is dead, and a 56-year-old Toms River man is charged in connection with her death, after the car they were in early Tuesday went flying through the air twice before landing upside down in a drainage ditch adjacent to Cedar Bridge Avenue, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
Martine Taylor Jr., 56, the driver of the ill-fated 2015 Nissan Altima, was charged with causing a death while driving with a suspended driver's license, Billhimer said.
Police discovered the horrific crash when they responded to a report about 1:35 a.m. from a tractor-trailer driver who reported that the rig struck overhead utility wires while traveling east on Cedar Bridge Avenue, near the Garden State Parkway overpass, according to a news release issued by the prosecutor.
Officers located the utility disruption, and Jersey Central Power & Light Co. was contacted to respond and render the area safe.
While investigating the incident, officers discovered the heavily damaged Nissan Altima upside down in a drainage ditch adjacent to the eastbound lane of Cedar Bridge Avenue, the news release said.
Taylor and the woman were trapped inside the vehicle and had to be extricated. The woman, who Billhimer did not identify, was unresponsive, and attempts to save her life were unsuccessful, the news release said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Taylor was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.
The investigation revealed the horrific crash had impacted the utility lines that the tractor trailer driver reported striking.
The probe revealed the Altima had been traveling west on Cedar Bridge Avenue when it crossed the double yellow centerline and entered the eastbound lanes before leaving the road, going airborne, clearing the guardrail and traveling about 189 feet through the air, the news release said.
The vehicle quickly made contact with the ground before going airborne again, this time striking a tree before landing on its roof in the drainage ditch, the release said.
Investigators learned Taylor's driving privileges were suspended at the time of the crash, the news release said.
In furtherance of the investigation, blood was drawn from Taylor, in accordance with a court-authorized warrant.
Taylor was served with a warrant charging him with the criminal offense while at the hospital. He also was issued multiple motor-vehicle summonses.
Once he is released from the hospital, he will be taken to the Ocean County Jail, where he will remain to await a detention hearing, the news release said.
The prosecutor's Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Lakewood police and the Ocean County Sheriff's Crime Scene Investigation Unit conducted the investigation.
Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Horrific Lakewood crash kills woman; Toms River motorist faces charges
