Tremel Haskins, 41, of South Toms River. (Photo: Ocean County Jail)
A South Toms River man was behind bars Monday after being located by Ocean County Sheriff’s Department officers and arrested on charges related to a vehicular homicide in June.
Tremel Haskins, 41, of South Toms River, was charged with vehicular homicide in connection with the death of Marie Bellavista, 57, also of South Toms River, that occurred on June 7, 2025, in South Toms River. Haskins’ Volvo semi-truck was later found in the parking lot of the Toms River Walmart store, where the investigation was launched.
According to a statement from prosecutors, police responded to a residence on Colgate Drive in South Toms River at 3:50 a.m. for a report of an individual having been struck by a motor vehicle. Responding officers discovered Bellavista deceased in the roadway. An investigation determined that Haskins was operating the cab of a Volvo semi-truck when he struck the victim, the statment said. Haskins then drove away from the scene, but he and the semi-truck were located in the parking lot of the Walmart store on Route 37 in Toms River a short time later.
Haskins was taken into custody without incident and initially charged with the motor vehicle offenses of DWI, careless driving, operating a vehicle without insurance, and operating an unregistered vehicle. In furtherance of the investigation, Haskins was transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River where a draw of his blood was obtained pursuant to a court-authorized warrant.
Laboratory results – which came in later – allegedly showed that Haskins had an active THC (marijuana) level of 14 nanograms with a metabolite THC level of 100ng, indicating that Haskins was a “recent, active user of marijuana at the time of the crash, and that he could not safely operate a motor vehicle.”
On June 9, 2025, detectives executed a court-authorized search warrant on the Volvo truck. As a result, they seized a loaded .38 caliber Colt revolver. Further investigation revealed that Haskins had two prior convictions for distribution of narcotics – making him a “certain person never to lawfully possess a firearm.” As a consequence, on June 17, 2025, Haskins was charged with firearms offenses. Haskins surrendered himself to South Toms River Police Headquarters that same day and was transported to the Ocean County Jail and subsequently released in accordance with New Jersey’s bail reform law.
In the interim, the results of the blood draw were returned to police, leading to an arrest warrant being issued for Haskins. On Monday morning, Haskins was taken into custody by officers from the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office. He was transported to the Ocean County Jail where he is presently lodged pending a detention hearing.
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