Jackson man loses license for life for fatal drunk driving crash

A Jackson man is learning the consequences of a fatal mistake and a flawed decision that will cost him legally for a long time.

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Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced Monday that Douglas Thompson, 56, of Jackson, was sentenced to five years in State Prison as a result of a previously entered guilty plea to Death By Auto in a 2019 crash that later killed a Toms River man.

Billhimer said the sentence is subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act, meaning that Thompson will be required to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence before he may be considered for parole eligibility.

Thompson’s driving privileges will be suspended for life as well in connection with his sentence for Death by Auto.

When he was sentenced for Death by Auto, Thompson pled guilty to Driving While Intoxicated and the Judge sentenced him to 180 days incarceration to run concurrent with the five-year state prison sentence imposed on the Death by Auto conviction.

His driving privileges were suspended for a period of ten years relative to the DWI offense, "which as a practical matter will be subsumed by the life-time ban on his driving privileges imposed as a consequence of the Death by Auto conviction," Billhimer said.

This all traces back to October 15, 2019, when Toms River Police responded to the intersection of Route 9 and Stevens Road for a report of a motor vehicle accident.

Investigators learned that Thomas Marciano, 65, of Toms River, was stopped behind a motor vehicle making a left-hand turn when he was struck from behind by a vehicle operated by Thompson.

Marciano was brought to Community Medical Center then flown to Jersey Shore Medical Center due to the severity of his injuries and passed away on October 28, 2019.

Thompson submitted to chemical breath testing on the date of the crash, which revealed his Blood Alcohol Concentration to be .17 percent, which is more than double the legal limit under New Jersey law for purposes of alcohol consumption.

Ocean County Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Robert Cassidy and Ocean County Senior Assistant Prosecutor Jamie Schron handled the case on behalf of the State.

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