Howell Woman Charged In Monmouth Crash That Killed 3-Year-Old Girl

HOWELL, NJ — A Howell woman has been indicted on numerous charges in connection with a January multi-car crash that left a 3-year-old dead, according to Monmouth County prosecutors.

A Monmouth County grand jury this week charged Samantha E. Bonora, 31, with first-degree aggravated manslaughter, two counts of second-degree aggravated assault and two counts of fourth-degree assault by auto following the crash that claimed the life of the toddler and injured several others.

According to Monmouth County prosecutors, shortly before 4:45 p.m. on Jan. 13, the Howell Township Police Department received a report of a multiple-car collision that occurred on Highway 34 near the Colts Neck border.

An investigation revealed Bonora was driving a Dodge Ram pickup truck southbound on Highway 34 when she traveled into the northbound lane, directly into oncoming traffic.

Bonora’s vehicle then collided head-on with an oncoming Jeep Grand Cherokee, prosecutors said. Bonora's truck stopped in the northbound lane, where a Ford Bronco struck it in a rear-end collision.

The 3-year-old girl, a passenger in the Jeep Cherokee, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Cherokee and another other child passenger, a 2-year-old boy, suffered serious injuries and were hospitalized, prosecutors said. Bonora, as well as a female passenger in the Jeep and the female driver of the Ford Bronco, also suffered injuries.

An investigation revealed Bonora was under the influence of multiple narcotic drugs at the time of the collision, prosecutors said.

Bonora was arrested and taken to the Monmouth County Correctional Institute, where she remains incarcerated.