TOMS RIVER – Police said that video taken during a high speed chase was recorded and shared so that the people in the car could show off to people on Snapchat.
The videos, including one of the crash that killed two young people, were shown in court,
according to a report by
The Patch
.
The incident was also shown in court from a different perspective – that of the police dashcam.
“The purpose was to film it and post it in their 28-person Snapchat group for clout,” Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Travis Clark said in
The Patch
article. Prosecutors said that their BMW was upgraded to go over 100 mph and that they changed the license plate to a fake plate after they first got spotted by police.
The crash claimed the lives of two residents, Evan Fiore, 23, and Kiley Armstrong, 21. On the night of March 7, Fiore was driving his Toyota Camry at the intersection of Routes 166 and 37 when the BMW collided with them. Passengers in Fiore’s car were Kiley’s twin, Krista Armstrong, and Ryan Chapman, 19. They were severely injured, and loved ones said they spent a lot of time in the hospital and undergoing therapy.
There were three people in the car that was speeding. The driver charged with these deaths is Carlos D. Martinez, who was 17 at the time of the crash. The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed with
JerseyShoreOnline.com
that Martinez has since turned 18 and consented to have the charges waived out of juvenile court.
At his detention hearing on July 10, he was incarcerated until his future court proceedings, the prosecutor’s office said.
According to a complaint provided by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Martinez faces two charges of aggravated manslaughter while eluding, two charges of causing bodily injury while eluding, two charges of manslaughter, two charges of vehicular homicide, two charges of driving without a license resulting in death, two charges of driving without a license causing serious bodily injury, two charges of aggravated assault, two charges of assault by auto, eluding, hindering apprehension, and numerous moving violations.
According to the Ocean County Corrections website, Ryan Rivera, 18, and Jake M. Beauchamp, 20, each have been charged with two counts of aggravated manslaughter, two counts of vehicular homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated assault causing bodily injury with fleeing, eluding, hindering, and obstruction.
At around 10:45 pm. on March 7, Toms River Police first saw the BMW driving at a high rate of speed. They tried to pull over the car but the car kept speeding, crossing the bridge to Seaside Heights, heading north on Route 35. Police halted their pursuit for safety reasons and alerted neighboring towns.
Seaside Heights police spotted the BMW on Route 35, and clocked it going 118 mph in a 35 mph zone. It headed back over the bridge into Toms River. There, Toms River Police followed at a safe distance but did not pursue.
The BMW ran a red light, crashing into the Camry driven by Fiore.
Martinez didn’t sustain any injuries in the crash. His two passengers were both were treated and released, authorities said at the time.
A GoFundMe for the families and the medical care of the survivors is still active at
gofundme.com/f/tragic-loss-kylie-and-evans-memorial
