Detectives Pursuing Leads in Attempted Carjacking of Pregnant Toms River Woman

Detectives in Manchester are pursuing leads in the recent attempted carjacking of a pregnant Toms River woman driving through town, but no arrests have been made.

The 23-year-old woman was stopped at the traffic light at Route 571 and Renaissance Boulevard at about 11 p.m. on July 11 when a man opened her driver side door and attacked her, police said.

“The detectives are following up some leads, but right now we don’t have a viable suspect,” said Sgt. James Sharkey Tuesday at Manchester police headquarters, a day after authorities released details of the incident.

The suspect grabbed the victim and attempted to pull her from the vehicle. The victim was able to fight off the attacker before driving away, police said.

“Her instinct was to protect herself,” Sharkey. “She covered her stomach with one arm and she started punching him with her right hand, which got him out of the vehicle.”

As a result, the victim suffered injuries to her neck and knuckles and was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River.

“She was released from the hospital,” Sharkey said. “Baby’s fine.”

The victim described the assailant as a white male, unshaven, with a tattoo, police said.

The sergeant said that the attempted carjacking is the first such incident “in the recent” past that he can recall in Manchester. While many newer-model vehicles have auto-locking doors, the victim’s older car was not equipped with that feature.

During a search of the area, police received a report about a suspicious person in the area of the 3000 block of Wilbur Avenue. The caller reported that their residential motion light turned on, and the alarm to their car began to sound, police said.

The caller was unable to provide a description of the subject and a search of the area yielded no results.   

The attempted carjacking victim was later interviewed by Detective Christopher Hemhauser at police headquarters and a composite sketch of the suspect was completed by Patrolman Michael Lynch.

Assisting in the investigation were members of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Criminalistics Unit.     

Manchester Police have released a sketch of the suspect and they're asking anyone with any information to contact them at 732-657-6111. All calls will remain confidential.