Teen Faces Vehicular Homicide, Assault Charges In Fatal Route 37 Crash

TOMS RIVER — An 18-year-old Lake Hiawatha man was charged Wednesday with vehicular homicide and assault by auto for a Memorial Day weekend crash that killed a Toms River woman and injured her husband, Ocean County authorities said.

Investigators allege Abel Mathukutty was driving 76 mph in a 50-mph zone when his Infiniti sedan struck a Mercedes on Route 37 eastbound around 7:25 p.m. May 24, prosecutors said. The impact forced the Mercedes into a utility pole, fatally injuring driver Deborah Barone, 59. Her husband, Michael Barone, 64, was treated for serious injuries at Jersey Shore University Medical Center and later released.

Mathukutty allegedly fled over the Thomas A. Mathis Bridge but was stopped…