By: Richard L. Smith
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that a tragic two-vehicle collision claimed the lives of two people and left a child injured Thursday night in Toms River.
According to investigators, the crash happened on September 11, 2025, just before 9 p.m. Officers from the Toms River Township Police Department were called to the area of Hooper Avenue and Fischer Boulevard after reports of a serious accident.
Authorities said a 2016 Chevrolet Equinox, driven by a 46-year-old man with a female passenger, was heading south on Hooper Avenue when it crossed the center grass median.
The SUV collided head-on with a 2025 Toyota Rav4 driven by a 28-year-old woman who had a 4-year-old child in the back seat.
The violent impact caused the Toyota to roll onto its passenger side before coming to rest in a wooded area along the east side of the roadway.
The female driver of the Toyota was pronounced dead at the scene. Her 4-year-old passenger was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he remains in stable condition.
The Chevrolet driver was also taken to JSUMC and is listed in stable condition. Tragically, his female passenger was transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where she was pronounced deceased.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit – Vehicular Homicide Squad, along with Toms River Police, continues to investigate the cause of the crash.