The woman killed by an alleged drunk driver heading the wrong way on Route 70 in Brick Friday morning has been identified by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Anne Rasmussen, 58, was driving west on Route 70 around 5 a.m. when she was struck by a vehicle driven by Jose Romero Quinteros, 53, of Howell. Rasmussen, of Whiting, was partially ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, the prosecutor’s office said.
Rasmussen spent much of her life as an ER nurse and was driving home from work when she was killed, according to her family. The family has started a GoFundMe campaign that as of Saturday afternoon had raised $22,920 to pay for funeral expenses.
“She would take the shirt off her back for absolutely anyone and would do anything for the people she loved,” Rasmussen’s daughter, Kelly Kracsun, said in the GoFundMe post. “This is such a tragedy and our family will never be the same.”
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office revealed that Quinteros, in a Toyota RAV4, was traveling east in the westbound lane of Route 70 and collided head-on with a Volkswagen Beetle driven by Rasmussen near the Lowe’s shopping center.
Quinteros was extricated from the vehicle and taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune, where he is in critical but stable condition. Brick police issued initial summonses for driving while intoxicated and reckless driving. The accident remains under investigation.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s office urged anyone with information to contact Det. Joseph Mitchell at 732-929-2027, ext. 3532, or Officer David Thergesen of the Brick Police Department at 732-262-1100.
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