5 Years In Prison For Woman Who Drove Drunk, Killed Old Bridge Man

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River woman who police say was driving drunk in a 2022 crash that killed an Old Bridge man will serve five years in prison, the Ocean County Prosecutor announced Monday.

Ashley L. Beams, 32, previously pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in the death of James Cruz, 62, of the Parlin section of Old Bridge. She pleaded guilty on July 24, and must serve 85 percent of the term before she is eligible for parole.

Friends of Cruz previously set up a GoFundMe campaign to help his family with funeral expenses.

The fatal car accident happened during the evening hours of Feb. 8, 2022 in Toms River: Police say the young woman had gone to TGIFriday's to pick up dinner that night and while waiting for her order, she drank a Long Island iced tea followed by three shots of vodka.

She left home at 9:45 p.m. and hit Cruz at 10:26 p.m., as she drove her Honda Accord along Bay Avenue and drifted onto the shoulder, just past Twin Oaks Drive. She hit Cruz as he was getting a package out of the trunk of his Kia Sorrento and pinned him between two cars.

Cruz was pronounced dead at the scene.

Beams had a blood alcohol concentration of .321 percent, according to the affidavit, four times the 0.08 percent limit where a person is considered legally intoxicated in New Jersey.

Authorities said people "close to" Beams said she had "struggled with an alcohol addiction for several years," the affidavit said. She was arrested previously on a charge of driving while intoxicated. In a separate incident in 2014, Beams was arrested in Lacey after police were called to a dispute at a Forked River home.

Read original Patch report: Woman Had 4 Drinks In Short Time Span Before Fatal Toms River Crash: Affidavit