Story by Ethan
On November 3rd, 2025, the arrest of Tremel Haskins, age 41, was announced by Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. Tremel Haskins was charged with Vehicular Homicide, Being a Certain Persons Not to Possess a Weapon, and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon. The arrest and charges against Tremel Haskins were a result of an investigation handled by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Squad, South Toms River Police Department, United States Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office and their Crime Scene Investigation Unit.
According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, reports of an individual being struck by a motor vehicle were made on June 7th, 2025, at approximately 3:50 a.m. on Colgate drive in South Toms River, New Jersey. Responding officers from the South Toms River Police Department located the victim, 57-year old Maria Bellavista of South Toms River, New Jersey, and pronounced her deceased on the scene. Investigative work uncovered that a Volvo-semi truck was traveling on Colgate drive before fleeing from the scene after the victim was struck with the vehicle. Detectives determined that the driver of the Volvo semi-truck was Tremel Haskins, and located him and the vehicle in question stationary in a Walmart parking lot off of Route 37 in Toms River, New Jersey. Allegedly Tremel Haskins was operating the Volvo semi-truck at the time of the crash, and he was subsequently arrested and charged. A court-authorized warrant was executed for a blood draw on Tremel Haskins after he was transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River, New Jersey.
Following the arrest a court-authorized search warrant for the Volvo semi-truck, and detectives recovered a loaded .38 caliber Colt revolver. Continuing the investigation detectives uncovered that Tremel Haskins had two prior convictions for Distribution of Narcotics – which caused him to become a Certain Persons Not to Possess a Weapon.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office stated that the charges against Tremel Haskins are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
