NJ Man Dies After Driver Hits His Parked Vehicle: Police

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A man who was retrieving something from his vehicle was killed Tuesday night when a driver drifted into the shoulder on Bay Avenue and hit him, Toms River police said Wednesday.

The victim is not being identified while authorities notify his family, said Jillian Messina, media relations specialist for the Toms River Police Department.

Charges are pending against Ashley Beams, 31, of Toms River, the driver of the vehicle who hit the man, Messina said. She deferred additional questions to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

The crash happened just before 10:30 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Bay Avenue and Twin Oaks Drive, she said. The police investigation found Beams was driving east on Bay Avenue when she drifted into the shoulder and hit the man, who was retrieving something from his parked vehicle, Messina said.

Beams's vehicle and the parked vehicle traveled 96 feet after the crash before coming to a stop, the investigation found.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, Messina said.

Beams was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment of injuries she suffered in the crash, Messina said.

The Ocean County Sheriff Criminal Investigation Unit assisted, and the crash remains at under investigation by Toms River Traffic Safety Officer Ryan Fitzgerald and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters here, or download our app to have breaking news alerts sent right to your phone. Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com Follow Toms River Patch on Facebook.