Man Indicted For Drunken, High-Speed Crash That Killed Matawan Woman, Prosecutor Says

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River man was indicted Dec. 18 for an alleged drunk driving crash that killed a Matawan woman, said Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer.

The fatal crash occurred in May in Lakewood and it took the life of Christine Kroliczak, 52, of Matawan. Kroliczak was a front-seat passenger in a 2015 Nissan Altima driven by Martine Taylor Jr., 56.

Taylor was indicted last week on criminal charges of aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide and causing death while driving with a suspended driver’s license.

The crash occurred shortly after midnight May 13 on Cedar Bridge Avenue near the Garden State Parkway overpass. Police say Taylor was driving between 94 and 98 miles per hour when his car went airborne for 189 feet before flipping over and landing upside down in the drainage ditch on the side of the road.

The speed limit on Cedar Bridge Road is 50 mph. There was no evidence that Taylor hit his brakes, the Ocean County Prosecutor previously said.

Taylor's license was suspended at the time, and blood drawn from him at the hospital showed his blood alcohol concentration was .182 when it was drawn. That's more than double the .08 level at which New Jersey drivers are considered intoxicated.

It was a passing vehicle that called 911, and Lakewood Police found Taylor's car lying upside down on its roof. Rescuers pulled him out and he was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Kroliczak was found unresponsive and trapped in the passenger seat. While life-saving efforts were attempted, she was pronounced dead at the scene. This is Kroliczak's obituary: https://everloved.com/life-of/...

At the time he was indicted, Taylor remains held in the Ocean County Jail, where he has been since his arrest in September.

First report on the Toms River Patch: Driver Was Drunk, Going 94 MPH As Airborne Car Traveled 189 Feet In Lakewood Crash, Prosecutor Says