Downtown toms river homeless advocate arrested for killing woman in horrific lakewood crash

LAKEWOOD, N.J. — A man who serves as a homeless advocate for those in need in Downtown Toms River has been charged in connection with a deadly crash that occurred early Tuesday morning in Lakewood Township.

Martine Taylor Jr., 56, was charged with Causing Death While Driving with a Suspended Driver’s License following a violent single-vehicle crash on Cedar Bridge Avenue near the Garden State Parkway overpass. According to authorities, the crash occurred at approximately 1:35 a.m. and left one woman dead and Taylor hospitalized.

According to Jersey Coast Emergency News, Taylor was affiliated with former Governor Jim McGreevey’s NJ Re-entry program.

Police were initially contacted by a commercial truck driver who reported striking overhead utility wires while traveling eastbound in the area. Responding officers investigating the reported utility issue discovered a 2015 Nissan Altima overturned in a drainage ditch adjacent to the eastbound lanes.

Inside the vehicle, officers found Taylor entrapped and seriously injured. He was extricated and transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. A 52-year-old female passenger was also found in the vehicle. She was unresponsive, and despite life-saving efforts, was pronounced dead at the scene.

An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Lakewood Township Police Department, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit revealed that the vehicle had been traveling westbound before crossing into oncoming traffic. The vehicle then went airborne, traveling approximately 189 feet before striking a utility pole, hitting the ground, becoming airborne a second time, and finally coming to rest on its roof.

Driver was suspended at time of fatal crash

Investigators determined that Taylor’s driver’s license was suspended at the time of the crash. A blood draw was obtained from Taylor at the hospital under a court-authorized warrant as part of the ongoing investigation.

Taylor was formally charged at the hospital and served with a warrant. He was also issued multiple motor vehicle summonses. Once medically cleared, he will be transported to the Ocean County Jail and held pending a detention hearing.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer confirmed the charges on Tuesday. More charges could be pending following the toxicology reports.

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