The collision occurred at 4:55 p.m. Saturday near Hooper Avenue and Washington Street, Toms River police said.
Thomas P. Zimmerman, 19, of Brick told police he was driving south on Hooper when he crossed the double-yellow lines and crashed into an oncoming car, police said.
Zimmerman, who was not charged, told Toms River police he was practicing "deep-breathing techniques and may have ‘blacked out’ prior to the crash,” police said. “There was no indication of impairment or cell phone use.”
A rear passenger in the other car who was not wearing a seatbelt, suffered serious head injuries and was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. Two others were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The crash remains under investigation by Toms River Traffic Safety Officer P.J. Gambardella and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit.
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