New charges in 94 mph Lakewood crash that killed NJ woman

🔴 Crash in May killed Matawan woman Christine Kroliczak

🔴 She was the passenger in a vehicle that went airborne and hit a utility pole

🔴 Prosecutors say the driver had a BAC of .182

LAKEWOOD — Nearly five months after a grisly fatal crash, Ocean County prosecutors have announced new serious charges against the driver of the vehicle that went airborne and hit a utility pole at nearly 100 mph.

Martine Taylor, Jr., 56, is now charged with aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide in connection with the May 13, 2025, crash.

Initially, Taylor had been charged with causing death while driving with a suspended driver’s license and motor vehicle summonses.

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At the time of the crash, Taylor had been arrested and released due to New Jersey Bail Reform, prosecutors said.

On Thursday, Taylor was arrested at a hotel in Toms River. He is now being held at Ocean County Jail.

Christine Kroliczak was killed in the May 13, 2025 crash in Lakewood (Christine Kroliczak via Facebook)

Matawan woman killed in high-speed crash

According to prosecutors, 52-year-old Christine Kroliczak of Matawan was found dead in the front passenger seat of the Nissan Altima.

Lakewood police found the overturned vehicle around 1:35 a.m. in a drainage ditch off to the side of Cedar Bridge Avenue near the Garden State Parkway. The officers had been responding to a separate call involving overhead wires.

Prosecutors said the sedan was going between 94 and 98 mph in the moments before the crash, with no signs of braking.

The speed limit on that section of Cedar Bridge Avenue was 50 mph.

Martine Taylor, Jr., of Toms River (Ocean County Jail)

Vehicle goes airborne in Lakewood crash

An investigation found that the Altima had been going westbound and crossed the double-yellow line.

The vehicle left the road and went airborne over the guardrail. It traveled 189 feet in the air before it hit a utility pole and kept going.

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Finally, the sedan came to a stop when it struck a tree and landed on its roof.

First responders had to extricate Taylor from the vehicle, and he was hospitalized.

A blood draw after the crash found that Taylor had a BAC of .182, prosecutors said. The legal limit in New Jersey is .08.

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