Authorities say that any larger vehicles, or even hybrid cars, that are left unattended for extended periods of time are especially subject to having their catalytic converters stolen.
The driver had offered to give an acquaintance a ride to an auto repair shop in Toms River, where his vehicle was stolen by a Lumberton man in a potential set-up, according to police.
It was the third fatal crash on Route 70 in Manchester in 2021 and the seventh on the road which runs from Belmar to Cherry Hill, according to State Police records. Six of those fatalities were in Ocean County.