TOMS RIVER – A 24-year-old Barnegat man is facing some serious charges including manslaughter, aggravated assault and strict liability vehicular homicide.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced on April 21, that Jeydon Lowe had not only been arrested on those charges, but also charged with the motor vehicle offenses of Driving While Intoxicated and Speeding.
The charges stem from an incident that began at 5:30 p.m. on March 25, when members of the Stafford Township Police Department responded to a single vehicle crash on Stafford Avenue near Hilliard Boulevard.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Stafford Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit revealed that a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt operated by Lowe was traveling eastbound on Stafford Avenue at an extremely high rate of speed.
Lowe lost control of his car as he was attempting to navigate a right-hand turn, and consequently crashed into a tree. A passenger in the front seat of the vehicle, Robert Parlin, 24, of Little Egg Harbor, succumbed to his injuries as a result of the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A search warrant was obtained for a draw of Lowe’s blood while he was being treated at Southern Ocean County Medical Center. Laboratory results from the blood draw indicated that Lowe had a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of nearly .12 percent.
An operator of a motor vehicle is presumed to be over the legal limit where his/her BAC is .08 or greater.
Lowe surrendered himself to Detectives of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office on April 21, in the presence of his attorney.
He is presently lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Prosecutor Billhimer acknowledged the collective assistance of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Stafford Township Police Department, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit relative to this investigation.
