Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that the victim in the fatal crash which occurred in Brick Township on December 27, 2024, has been identified as Anne Rasmussen, 58, of Whiting.
On December 27, 2024, at approximately 5:00 a.m., Officers from the Brick Township Police Department responded to the area of Route 70 near the Lowe’s home improvement store for a report of a serious motor vehicle crash. Responding Officers discovered that a Toyota Rav 4 and a Volkswagen Beetle were involved in a head-on collision. The driver of the Toyota Rav 4, identified as Jose Romero Quinteros, 53, of Howell, was extricated from the vehicle and taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment of his injuries. Romero Quinteros is in critical but stable condition. Ms. Rasmussen was partially ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Brick Township Police Department and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, revealed that the Toyota Rav 4 was traveling eastbound in the westbound lane of Route 70 – on the wrong side of the concrete barrier that separates the roadway-when it collided head on with the Volkswagen Beetle.
Romero Quinteros was issued motor vehicle summonses by the Brick Township Police Department for Driving While Intoxicated and Reckless Driving. The investigation remains active and ongoing.
Prosecutor Billhimer urges anyone in possession of information regarding this investigation to please contact Detective Joseph Mitchell of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027, extension 3532, or Officer David Thergesen of the Brick Township Police Department at 732-262-1100.
The charges referenced above are merely accusations and the press and public are reminded that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
R.P.C. 3.6(b)(6).