TOMS RIVER, N.J. (Ocean County) — An 18-year-old Morris County teen is accused of being involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash that occurred Saturday in Toms River, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
Abel Mathukutty, of Lake Hiawatha, was charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash causing death and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash causing serious bodily injury, Billhimer said in a statement.
At approximately 7:25 p.m. on May 24, officers from the Toms River Township Police Department responded to the eastbound side of Route 37, where a white Mercedes sedan had crashed into a utility pole. A female driver and a male passenger in the Mercedes had both sustained serious injuries, authorities said.
The driver was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where she died from her injuries. The male passenger was later transferred to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune and remains in critical condition.
An investigation by the Ocean County Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Toms River police, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit determined that an Infiniti sedan struck the Mercedes on the driver’s side, causing the crash. The Infiniti then fled the scene, continuing eastbound over the Thomas A. Mathis Bridge.
Shortly after 8 p.m., officers in Seaside Park located a vehicle matching the description and conducted a motor vehicle stop. The car had significant passenger-side damage and deployed airbags, investigators said.
Police determined the Infiniti was involved in the earlier crash and identified Mathukutty as the driver. He was arrested at the scene without incident and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he remains held pending a detention hearing.
