The South Toms River According to authorities, a borough man has been charged with vehicular homicide in relation to a June collision that claimed the life of a 57-year-old lady.
Around 3:50 a.m. on June 7 on Colgate Drive, Tremel Haskins, 41, hit and murdered Marie Bellavista with the cab of a Volvo semi-truck before driving off, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. At the scene, Bellavista was declared deceased.
Haskins and the truck were eventually discovered by police at a Toms River Walmart parking lot. His original charges included several motor vehicle crimes and driving while inebriated. Prosecutors said that active THC levels in a blood test indicated recent marijuana use.
Haskins’s earlier drug convictions led to new firearms charges after a check of the truck revealed a loaded.38-caliber revolver. He was freed in accordance with bail reform regulations after turning himself in to the police on June 17.
A warrant was obtained on July 31 in response to lab results. Haskins is still in the county jail awaiting a detention hearing after being taken into custody by the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office on August 11.
