OCEAN COUNTY — A Toms River man faces multiple charges after authorities say he struck an electric scooter while driving in Brick Township on a suspended license, leaving the rider seriously injured.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Lloyd Ferrara, 30, was charged Jan. 16 with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended driver’s license while involved in a crash that resulted in serious bodily injury.
The charges stem from a collision reported about 10:15 p.m. Jan. 15 at the intersection of Route 88 and Jack Martin Boulevard. Police said a 1988 Ford pickup truck driven by Ferrara was traveling westbound on Route 88 and attempted to turn right into a convenience store parking lot when it failed to yield to an electric scooter traveling eastbound.
Investigators said the vehicles collided head-on, ejecting the scooter’s operator, a 40-year-old man, who was dragged a short distance beneath the truck. The rider was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he was listed in serious but stable condition.
Authorities said further investigation determined Ferrara’s driver’s license was suspended at the time of the crash and that the pickup truck was displaying fictitious license plates.
Officers at the scene reported that Ferrara appeared intoxicated and attempted to administer standardized field sobriety tests, which he was unable to complete successfully, according to the prosecutor’s office. Ferrara was charged with driving under the influence and taken into custody.
Ferrara was transported to Ocean University Medical Center in Brick Township, where a blood sample was drawn under a court-authorized warrant. The results of that test are pending. He was later lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Billhimer credited the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Brick Township Police Department and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit for assisting in the investigation.
