Man Who Hid In Woods After Route 37 Crash Was Impaired, Prosecutor Says

TOMS RIVER, NJ —A Manchester Township man who ran and hid in the woods after a Route 37 crash that seriously injured two people was under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.

Andrew N. Gajewski, 30, was charged Tuesday with two counts of assault by auto by causing serious bodily injury while driving impaired in the crash that happened May 18, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Gajewski initially was charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash resulting in serious bodily injury, among other charges, including assaulting a police dog, the prosecutor's office said. He was arrested May 18 after a Toms River Police K-9 unit found him hiding in the woods near Route 37 and Batchelor Street after the crash that happened about 8:30 p.m., the prosecutor's office has said.

Authorities say Gajewski was speeding and recklessly driving a 2022 Ford F-150 pickup truck on the wrong side of the road when he hit a 2021 GMC Acadia head-on.

The man driving the Acadia, who was not identified, was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. He was later released to a rehabilitation center, the prosecutor's office said Wednesday. A passenger in the Acadia and a passenger in Gajewski's F-150 also were injured; they were both taken to Community Medical Center where they were treated and released, authorities said.

Gajewski got out of his truck and ran to the woods where he was taken into custody after physically resisting arrest and assaulting the dog, Toms River K-9 Ranger, who works with Patrol Officer Anthony Carafa, according to the Toms River PBA.

According to the probable cause affidavit, when K-9 Ranger found Gajewski, Gajewski grabbed the dog's face and began punching Ranger in the face to try to stop the dog from apprehending him.

Officers saw Gajewski exhibiting signs of intoxication and a court-authorized draw of his blood for analysis was conducted, the prosecutor's office said.

Results of laboratory testing on the blood drawn showed he was under the influence of alcohol and other controlled dangerous substances and was unfit to operate a motor vehicle at the time of the crash, the prosecutor's office said, which led to the new charges.

Gajewski, who had been released following a previous detention hearing, was arrested Wednesday morning at his home without incident, the prosecutor's office said. He is being held at the Ocean County Jail pending a new detention hearing.

Gajewski was charged May 18 with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash resulting in serious bodily injury; three counts of assault by auto; resisting arrest, and injuring an animal used by a law enforcement agency.

The prosecutor's office did not release the extent of Ranger's injuries. Gajewski was injured during the May 18 arrest and was hospitalized briefly.

He also was charged with numerous motor vehicle summonses including reckless driving, careless driving, failure to maintain lane, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash causing injury, and failure to report an accident, authorities said.