More charges for NJ man accused of driving drunk, crashing and running

⚠️ The driver in a serious Toms River crash faces more charges after blood test results.

➡️ Prosecutors said Andrew Gajewski was under the influence of alcohol and drugs when his truck crashed into an SUV, head-on.

🔴 Investigators say he ran, resisted cops and punched a police K9 before his arrest.

TOMS RIVER — A 30-year-old Ocean County man faces additional charges, after a toxicology report shows he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs during a crash that seriously hurt a second driver in Toms River last month.

Andrew Gajewski, of Manchester Township, is now charged with two counts of assault by auto, causing serious bodily injury while driving impaired.

Investigators say he crashed his pickup truck head-on into an SUV, then ran from the scene, leaving behind his own passenger and the other driver and passenger.

Police caught up to him a short distance away in a wooded area, where he is accused of resisting arrest against three officers and punching a K9 police dog in the face.

Investigators say driver was speeding in the wrong lane

On May 18 at 8:30 p.m., Toms River Police responded to the crash involving Gajewski’s 2022 Ford F-150 and a 2021 GMC Acadia.

Investigators said that Gajewski had driven erratically along Route 37 and then turned west onto Batchelor Street, where he was speeding in the wrong lane until hitting the SUV.

The GMC driver was hospitalized and later released to a rehabilitation facility, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

A passenger in the Acadia and a passenger in the Ford were both taken to a different hospital, where they were treated and released.

At least one of the passengers was a child, according to an affidavit filed by investigators.

Gajewski was initially charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash resulting in serious bodily injury, as well as three counts of assault by auto, resisting arrest, and injuring an animal used by a law enforcement agency.

He was also issued tickets for reckless driving, careless driving, failure to maintain lane, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash causing injury, and failure to report an accident.

Toxicology results bring additional charges

Gajewski was also treated for injuries suffered while he fought against police, Billhimer said.

He was briefly held at Ocean County Jail and initially released, pending court proceedings.

Recently, lab results came back showing Gajewski was under the influence of “alcohol and other controlled dangerous substances and was unfit to operate a motor vehicle at the time of the crash.”

On Wednesday, Gajewski was taken back to the Ocean County Jail, pending a detention hearing.

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