Prosecutors: Toms River Woman Charged With Vehicular Manslaughter, DWI 4x Legal Limit

Ashley Beams (Photo: Ocean County Jail)

A Toms River motorist is accused of hitting and killing a township man who was retrieving a package from the trunk of his vehicle the night of Feb. 8.

The driver of the vehicle involved in the accident, identified as Ashley Beams, 31, of Toms River, is accused of having been driving with a blood alcohol level of .32, four times New Jersey’s legal limit of .08. She is charged with numerous offenses, including vehicular manslaughter in the death of James Cruz, 62, of the Parlin section of Old Bridge Township. She was also charged with DWI, reckless driving, careless driving and failure to maintain a lane.

The fatal accident occurred about 10:30 p.m. the night of Feb. 8, according to a statement from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. Toms River police officers responded to Bay Avenue for a report of a motor vehicle crash and determined that Cruz had been struck by the vehicle operated by Beams, the statement said.

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An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Toms River Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, revealed that Beams had been traveling eastbound on Bay Avenue approaching the cross street of Twin Oaks Drive. Shortly after passing Twin Oaks Drive, Beams “failed to maintain her lane of travel and entered the shoulder – striking Mr. Cruz, who at the time was retrieving a package from the trunk of his vehicle,” the statement said.

As a result of the collision, Cruz was pinned between the two vehicles and “carried a significant distance” eastbound on Bay Avenue. He was subsequently pronounced deceased at the scene, according to officials.

Beams was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, for treatment of the injuries she sustained in the crash. The initial draw of her blood at the hospital revealed that Beams had a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .32 percent. Beams was arrested Wednesday by detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit at her home. She was transported to the Ocean County Jail, where she was lodged pending a detention hearing.