Woman Killed In Route 9 Crash In Toms River Identified

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Freehold woman has been identified as the victim in a head-on crash on Route 9 Saturday night in Toms River.

Shamirah Nolan, 37, died as a result of the crash, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office confirmed Thursday.

"Normally, we wouldn’t release the names of the victim or the suspect while the incident is under investigation," Bryan Huntenburg, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office said. "But in this case since the family put the name out there, I can confirm that Ms. Nolan was the victim. It is still under investigation."

Nolan was driving north on Route 9 about 11 p.m. Saturday in a Honda Accord when she was hit head-on by a Volkswagen Jetta after the Jetta hit a guardrail and veered into her lane, the prosecutor's office said.

The driver of the Jetta, identified only as a man, was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center with injuries, the prosecutor's office said.

Officers who responded to the crash said he showed signs of impairment and his blood was drawn under a court-approved search warrant at the hospital, the prosecutor's office said.

Blood testing in suspected impaired driving cases typically takes six weeks for results to be provided to law enforcement.

Nolan's family told the Asbury Park Press that she was a certified nursing assistant and was on her way to work at Complete Care at Bey Lea in Toms River at the time of the crash.

Nolan was known by the nickname, "Shakie," her family told NJ.com. She had lived in Freehold her entire life and has three daughters who are 17, 18 and 19. She loved being a mom, the family said.

"Her daughters were her pride and joy. She had a big personality and a big laugh, and she brought people together wherever she went," the NJ.com report said.

Family members expressed frustration that the prosecutor's office had not released more information about the crash, including both Nolan's identity and the identity of the other driver.

They told both news outlets they want to advocate for Nolan and also remind others to not drive impaired.

“We very much want to advocate not only for her, but other families so that they don’t have to go through what we’ve been going through in terms of losing a family member very tragically, very unexpectedly due to a preventable cause,” Nolan's cousin, Kayla Crooms, told the Asbury Park Press.