June 8, 2023
FREEHOLD – An Ocean County man has been arrested and criminally charged with being responsible for an alcohol-fueled motor-vehicle collision that left a woman and her son injured in Wall Township earlier this year, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago and Wall Township Police Chief Sean O’Halloran jointly announced Thursday.
Kevin Christian, 41, of Seaside Heights is charged with second- and third-degree Aggravated Assault.
At approximately 8 p.m. on Friday, March 17, 2023, members of the Wall Township Police Department responded to a two-vehicle collision on State Highway 138 East, in the area of the on- and off-ramps for State Route 18. At that location, the officers encountered the two involved vehicles: a van driven by Christian and an SUV driven by a 44-year-old female resident of Toms River (Ocean County). Both drivers and the woman’s 9-year-old son, who had sustained a serious head injury, were then taken to a local hospital for medical treatment.
An investigation conducted by the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART), the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit, and the Wall Township Police Department revealed that Christian had been driving southbound on the Route 18 off-ramp onto Highway 138 eastbound when he lost control of his vehicle, careened across a grass median, and collided with the SUV. The investigation also determined that Christian’s blood-alcohol level was more than triple the legal limit at the time of the crash.
It was also discovered that Christian was operating the vehicle with a suspended license. In addition to the criminal charges against him, he was issued summonses for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, delaying traffic, and failure to maintain a lane.
Christian was arrested by members of the Wall Township Police Department on Wednesday, June 7, with the assistance of members of the Neptune Township Police Department, and transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI) pending a first appearance and detention hearing to take place in Monmouth County Superior Court.
This case is being prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Cummings of the Major Crimes Bureau.
Anyone who witnessed the collision or may have information pertaining to this matter is still being asked to contact MCPO Detective Brian Boryszewski at 800-671-4400 or Wall Township Police Department Capt. Chad Clark or Sgt. Andrew Baldino at 732-449-4500.
Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all the trial rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and New Jersey State Law.
