Crime & Safety

Newtown Teen Struck By Hit And Run Driver In Toms River

Kevin O'Brien was walking along Route 35 North in Toms River around 9:30 p.m. Friday when he was hit by 40-year-old Craig Terlizzi.

A 17-year-old boy from Newtown was injured and in critical condition after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in Toms River, N.J. Friday night.

Kevin O'Brien was walking along Route 35 North in the Normandy Beach section of Toms River around 9:30 p.m. on Friday when he was hit by 40-year-old Craig Terlizzi of Brick Township, N.J.

The victim was transported by the Dover-Brick First Aid Squad to Jersey Shore University Medical Center's Trauma Center in Neptune, N.J.

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As of Saturday, he was listed as being in critical condition. A corporate communications official from Jersey Shore University Medical Center, said Wednesday he could not release information regarding the patient's status becuase he is a minor. However, a police officer with the Toms River Police department said last he heard, O'Brien was doing well.

Terlizzi is being held on $50,000 bail for a criminal count of endangering and numerous motor vehicle charges including leaving the scene of an accident, failure to report an accident, and reckless driving.

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According to Brick Patch, Terlizzi told police he was driving a friend's 2011 Lexus on Friday night. The suspected vehicle was located by Mantoloking Police before midnight.

O'Brien was walking south on the east side of Route 35 northbound near Silver Beach Road, Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy told Brick Patch. 

"According to witnesses and two Massachusetts teenagers he was walking with, the victim was struck by a black sports car that was northbound and traveled onto the shoulder of the road. The suspect vehicle then immediately [sped] off northbound," Mastronardy said in an email to Brick Patch.

Toms River Police said they could not release the address of O'Brien because he is a minor.


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