Toms River Driver Arrested In Jackson Crash That Killed Child, Woman

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River woman has been charged with vehicular homicide in a crash in Jackson that killed two people, including a child in her vehicle, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced.

Sorah S. Tyner, 37, was using her cell phone and was in the oncoming lane of traffic when the 2018 Chrysler Pacifica crashed into a 2010 GMC Terrain driven by Carolina Bonilla-Hernandez, 36, of Jackson Township on May 30, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Friday.

Tyner was driving west on East Veterans Highway about 5 p.m. on May 30 and while trying to negotiate a curve, crossed into the eastbound lane, hitting the GMC, Billhimer said.

Bonilla-Hernandez was taken to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, where were takne she succumbed to her injuries, the prosecutor's office said.

Tyner and two children in her vehicle were taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment; one of the children was pronounced dead at the hospital upon arrival, the prosecutor's office said.

The second child remains hospitalized and is stable, the prosecutor's office said.

Tyner was treated for her injuries and released, authorities said.

Detectives determined that Tyner’s vehicle was in the oncoming lane for some distance prior to impact, and that she did not take corrective actions to avoid the crash,Billhimer said.

The investigation also revealed that only one of the minors was seated in an appropriate child car seat. The child who died was restrained only by a seatbelt in spite of the fact that due to his age and weight, he should have been retrained in a child car seat, the prosecutor's office said.

Tyner has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child, assault by auto, hindering and obstruction, and was being held in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing, the prosecutor's office said.

Detectives executed a court-authorized search warrant for Tyner’s cell phone and a forensic extraction of the device by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit revealed Tyner was using her cell phone at the time of the crash, the prosecutor's office said. Detectives determined that Tyner made inconsistent statements at the scene of the crash, they said.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad and High Tech Crime Unit, Jackson Township Police Department Detective Bureau and Patrol Division, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office collaborated on the investigation.