Monmouth County Man Was High In Fatal Route 138 Crash In 2023: Authorities

WALL, NJ — A Howell Township man who was wanted in connection with a July 2023 fatal crash in Wall Township has been arrested, authorities said Tuesday.

Thomas A. Redding, 45, has been charged with second-degree death by auto, third-degree possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a disorderly persons offense, a joint news release from Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Julia Alonso and Wall Township Police Chief Sean O’Halloran said.

Investigators determined Redding was high at the time of the July 29, 2023, crash that killed Leonard Akers of Wall Township, authorities said.

Redding was criminally charged earlier in July but had been on the run until early Monday, when members of the prosecutor’s office and the U.S. Marshals Service found and arrested Redding in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, authorities said.

Redding is being held in Pennsylvania pending extradition to New Jersey and future proceedings in Monmouth County Superior Court, authorities said.

The crash happened about 5 a.m. on July 29, 2023, at the intersection of Old Mill Road and State Route 138 in Wall. Akers, 55, was driving a 2016 Ford Fusion and was stopped at a red traffic signal behind a 2016 Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by a 62-year-old man from Howell that also was stopped at the light, authorities said.

Redding, who was driving a 2023 Toyota 4Runner, hit the rear of Akers' Ford, propelling it into the back of the pickup truck, authorities said.

Akers was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune but did not survive despite lifesaving efforts, authorities said.

The investigation by the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART), the Prosecutor’s Office, the Wall Township Police Department, and the New Jersey State Police determined that Redding was "under the influence of intoxicating substances at the time of the collision," authorities said.

Redding is additionally charged on motor vehicle summonses with speeding, reckless driving, careless driving likely to endanger persons or property, following too closely, operation of a motor vehicle while in possession of narcotics, and driving while intoxicated, authorities said.