Police, Fire & Courts

Seaside Heights Man Charged With Injuring Mother, Child in Crash While Drunk

by
Daniel Nee
June 8, 2023

Handcuffs (Shorebeat File Photo/ banspy/ Flickr)

A Seaside Heights man 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 in a statement.

Kevin Christian, 41, of Seaside Heights is charged with second- and third-degree aggravated assault.

According to police, at approximately 8 p.m. on Friday, March 17, 2023, Wall police were called to a two-vehicle collision on State Highway 138 East, in the area of the on- and off-ramps for N.J. 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. 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 local and county authorities 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 allegedly 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, police said. 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.

The 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.

No photo of Christian was available.