Crime, Regional Interest

Prosecutor: Fugitive Found, Charged with Death by Auto in Fatal 2023 Accident

A fugitive has been found, arrested, and charged with death by auto and cocaine possession in stemming from a fatal July 2023 motor vehicle crash in Wall that killed an area man, Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Julia Alonso and Wall Township Police Chief Sean O’Halloran jointly announced Tuesday.   

Thomas A. Redding, 45, of Howell Township, has been charged with second-degree death by auto, third-degree possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a disorderly persons offense.

The case background …

At approximately 5 a.m. on Saturday, July 29, 2023, Wall Township police responded to a three-vehicle collision in the area of Old Mill Road and Route 138. There, they found that two vehicles, a 2016 Ford Fusion operated by 55-year-old Leonard Akers, of Wall, and a 2016 Dodge Ram pickup truck, driven by a 62-year-old male resident of Howell, had been fully stopped at a red light when Redding approached them from behind, driving a 2023 Toyota 4Runner.

Redding collided directly into the rear of the vehicle being driven by Akers, propelling it into the rear of the pickup truck in front of him and severely damaging both vehicles. Akers was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for medical treatment, but despite lifesaving efforts, he was pronounced dead.

An investigation into this matter involving members of the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART), the Prosecutor’s Office, the Wall Township Police Department, and the New Jersey State Police determined that Redding was under the influence of intoxicating substances at the time of the collision, and he was criminally charged earlier this month.

He remained at large until members of the Prosecutor’s Office, Wall Township Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service found and arrested him in Philadelphia, PA early on Monday, July 29.

He is currently being held in jail pending extradition to New Jersey and future proceedings in Monmouth County Superior Court.

Redding is additionally charged with summonses for speeding, reckless driving, careless driving likely to endanger persons or property, following too closely, operation of a motor vehicle while in possession of narcotics, and driving while intoxicated.

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office