Investigators looking for New Jersey driver who fled scene of fatal accident in Toms River, NJ

An early Sunday morning car crash in Toms River has claimed the life of a 28-year-old woman with the driver responsible wanted for questioning by police.

An investigation is underway into the accident that took place around 2:10 am between Route 70 and Massachusetts Avenue, according to a joint statement on Sunday by Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer and Toms River Police Chief Mitch Little.

A witness told responding Toms River Police officers this morning that the driver of the vehicle stopped, got out, looked at the woman lying in the roadway, got back in his car, and then took off eastbound on Route 70 heading towards Lakewood Township.

Police said that they also learned from the witness description of the vehicle that took off they are looking for is a dark colored 2003-2009 Ford Explorer with significant damage to the front passenger side which now has an inoperable headlight and some damage to the hood of the vehicle.

As for the driver, the witness told Toms River Police that he is a tall, thin, white male, with blonde or reddish hair.

The victim was tended to by first responders, EMS/Paramedics at the scene and she regained a pulse but by the time she arrived via transport at Southern Monmouth Medical Center, she was pronounced dead.

It's an active an ongoing investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Toms River Police, and the Ocean County Sheriff's Office into the circumstances surrounding this fatal pedestrian hit-and-run in Toms River.

“Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the vehicle and/or its operator is asked to please contact Detective Anthony Carrington of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit at 732-929-2027, ext. 3257, or Toms River Police Officer Corporal Robert Westfall at rwestfall@trpolice.org, or the Toms River Township Police Detective Bureau at 732-349-0150,” Prosecutor Billhimer said in a written statement.