Woman Pleads Guilty In Fatal DWI Crash That Pinned Man Between Cars In Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River woman has pleaded guilty in a drunken driving crash that killed a Middlesex County man in early 2022, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Monday.

Ashley L. Beams, 32, pleaded guilty Monday before Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan to vehicular homicide in the crash that killed James Cruz, 62, of Old Bridge, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Under the plea agreement, prosecutors will be requesting a six-year prison sentence at sentencing, which is scheduled for Sept. 15, the prosecutor's office said.

Beams was driving east in a Honda Accord along Bay Avenue on Feb. 8, 2022, when she drifted onto the shoulder just past Twin Oaks Drive and hit Cruz at 10:26 p.m., authorities said. Cruz, who was retrieving a package from the trunk of his Kia Sorrento, was pinned between the two vehicles, and Beams kept driving, going another 96 feet before coming to a stop.

Cruz was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

Beams was injured and taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment, and her blood was drawn for the crash investigation, authorities said.

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

Investigators learned Beams had gone to TGIFriday's to pick up dinner and while waiting for her order had consumed a Long Island iced tea and three shots of vodka. She had left home at 9:45 p.m. and hit Cruz 41 minutes later, at 10:26 p.m., according to the affidavit. Read more: Woman Had 4 Drinks Before Fatal Toms River Crash: Affidavit

Beams was arrested Feb. 16, 2022, at her home by detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit and taken to the Ocean County Jail, and subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform. She was indicted in April 2023.

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Robert Cassidy and Senior Assistant Prosecutor Jamie Schron are handling the case on behalf of the State. The Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide and Victim Witness Advocacy units, Toms River police and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit collaborated on the investigation.