TOMS RIVER – A Lakehurst man has been charged with vehicular homicide in connection with a deadly crash that killed a construction worker in Toms River in July, authorities said.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Douglas Smith, 51, was taken into custody September 3 after investigators determined he was impaired when he struck and killed Allen Adams, 50, of Lumberton.
Police said the crash happened around 1 a.m. July 31 near Lakewood Road and Raymond Avenue, where Adams had been working in a construction zone marked with flashing amber warning lights. Adams was pronounced dead at Community Medical Center in Toms River.
Smith’s blood alcohol concentration tested at .151, nearly twice the legal limit, and investigators said cocaine, fentanyl and methadone were also found in his system. He was initially charged with driving while intoxicated and reckless driving before lab results prompted the homicide charge, according to Billhimer’s office.
Smith was arrested at a Toms River home by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office and Toms River police. He is being held in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Two Toms River women — Tammie Malek, 46, and Amy Thorn, 56 — were also charged with hindering apprehension after authorities said they gave false information about Smith’s whereabouts. Both remain jailed awaiting detention hearings.
Billhimer praised the collaborative work of the Prosecutor’s Major Crime Unit Vehicular Homicide Squad, Toms River police, the sheriff’s office and federal marshals in the case.
