TOMS RIVER, N.J. (Ocean County) — An 18-year-old Morris County man has been charged with vehicular homicide and assault by auto in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash that occurred May 24 in Toms River, authorities announced Wednesday.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Abel Mathukutty, of Lake Hiawatha, was charged on June 11 following a continued investigation that revealed he was traveling 76 miles per hour in a 50 mph zone at the time of the crash.
Mathukutty had previously been charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash causing death and leaving the scene of a crash causing serious bodily injury on the same day of the incident.
Police said the crash occurred at approximately 7:25 p.m. on May 24, when officers from the Toms River Township Police Department responded to the eastbound side of Route 37 and found a white Mercedes sedan had struck a utility pole.
The car was occupied by Deborah Barone, 59, and Michael Barone, 64, both of Toms River. Both sustained serious injuries in the crash. Deborah Barone was later pronounced dead at Community Medical Center in Toms River. Michael Barone was transferred to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune and has since been released.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Toms River Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office CSI Unit determined the Mercedes had been struck on the driver’s side by an Infiniti sedan that then fled eastbound across the Thomas A. Mathis Bridge.
Around 8:00 p.m., officers from the Seaside Park Police Department located a vehicle matching the description. It had sustained heavy passenger-side damage and had deployed airbags. Investigators determined it was the vehicle involved in the crash, and Mathukutty was identified as the driver.
He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Ocean County Jail, then released under the guidelines of New Jersey Bail Reform.
Mathukutty was served with the additional charges on June 11 at Toms River Police Headquarters via summons and is awaiting future appearances in Ocean County Superior Court, officials said.
