Toms River Man Faces Serious Charges After Deadly High‑Speed Drunk Driving Crash
A 56-year-old Toms River man was charged with many serious charges following a May Lakewood Township high-speed crash that killed his passenger. The Ocean County grand jury indicted Martine Taylor Jr. on multiple counts of aggravated manslaughter, vehicular murder, and causing death while driving with a suspended license for killing 52-year-old Christine Kroliczak of Matawan
The early am Cedar Bridge Avenue tragedy at the Garden State Parkway flyover on May 13 was horrible. A commercial tractor-trailer driver called police and county investigators at 1:35 a.m. after hitting overhead electrical wires. Responding officials spotted a highly damaged 2015 Nissan Altima upside down in a drainage ditch. Taylor was hospitalized after car rescue. First responders found Kroliczak unresponsive in the automobile. She died on site despite rescue efforts.
Before the event, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit found Taylor driving fast. Westbound Cedar Bridge Avenue automobile exited the road, jumped the centerline, and soared 189 feet before hitting a power pole. The automobile soared again, hitting a tree and landing on its roof in the roadside ditch after considerable undercarriage damage.
Taylor’s court-ordered blood tests showed a.182 BAC, double the NJ driving limit. Accident occurred during Taylor’s driving suspension. Investigators found him inebriated driving 94–98 mph in a 50-mph zone.
After the crash, Taylor was detained in Ocean County and freed under New Jersey’s bail reform. After lab results showed his high BAC and high-speed wreck, Taylor was arrested without incident at a Toms River motel in September. Country detained him since.
Drunk driving deaths in New Jersey include aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide sentences. The primary causes of deadly road accidents nationwide are drunk driving and speeding, which law enforcement and prosecutors warn against.
Sources:
Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office official announcement via local media reports — December 2025
Local news coverage of the indictment and crash investigation — December 2025
