Driver Indicted In DWI Crash, Toms River Man's Death: Prosecutor

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Jackson man has been indicted on charges of vehicular homicide in a crash that killed a Toms River man in October, the Ocean County prosecutor's office said Thursday.

Douglas Thompson, 55, of Jackson, was indicted Wednesday on charges of vehicular homicide, strict liability vehicular homicide, and causing a death while driving with a suspended license, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

On Oct. 15, Thompson rear-ended a car driven by Thomas Marciano, 65, of Toms River, who was stopped on Route 9 behind a vehicle waiting to turn into the Wawa near Stevens Road. Marciano was taken to Community Medical Center, then flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center due to the gravity of his injuries. Marciano succumbed to those injuries on Oct. 28.

Thompson submitted to chemical breath testing after the crash, and it showed he had a blood alcohol concentration of .17 percent, Billhimer said, more than double the legal limit under New Jersey law.

Thompson initially was charged with driving while under in the influence of alcohol, reckless driving, careless driving, and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended or revoked license. After Marciano’s death, Thompson was charged with vehicular homicide and strict liability homicide on Nov. 8 and arrested at his home, the prosecutor's office said.

Billhimer thanked Senior Assistant Prosecutor Jamie Schron, the Toms River Township Police Department Traffic Safety Division, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Toms River EMS, and Silverton EMS for their assistance in the investigation.

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