TOMS RIVER – A Lakehurst man has admitted to driving impaired when he struck and killed a construction worker in Toms River in 2025, authorities said.
Douglas Smith, 52, pleaded guilty Aug. 31 to vehicular homicide before Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
Prosecutors will seek a 10-year state prison sentence when Smith is sentenced Oct. 23. The sentence would fall under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, requiring him to serve 85% of the term before becoming eligible for parole.
Toms River police responded around 1 a.m. July 31, 2025, to Lakewood Road near Raymond Avenue following a report that a vehicle had struck a pedestrian.
Officers found Allen Adams, 50, of Lumberton Township, seriously injured in the roadway. He was taken to Community Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators determined Adams had been working in a construction zone equipped with machinery displaying flashing amber warning lights when Smith’s northbound vehicle struck him, authorities said.
Police located Smith’s vehicle a short distance north of the crash scene. Officers reported that Smith displayed signs of impairment and initially charged him with driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.
A blood sample obtained under a court-approved warrant showed Smith had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.151%, nearly twice New Jersey’s legal limit of 0.08%, according to prosecutors. Cocaine, fentanyl and methadone were also detected in his system.
Smith was charged with vehicular homicide Aug. 28, 2025. Members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office and Toms River Police Department arrested him at a Toms River residence Sept. 3, 2025.
He has remained detained in the Ocean County Jail since his arrest.
Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Meghan O’Neill is representing the state.
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