Farmingdale man with 13 DUIs charged with leaving scene of fatal Wall crash

Farmingdale man charged with leaving scene of fatal Wall crash

On revoked list until 2030

By MICHELLE SAHN
STAFF WRITER

A Farmingdale man, whose driving privileges are suspended until 2030, has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident on Route 35 this weekend.

Walter Poland III, 46, of West Main Street, was arrested Monday. He was charged with knowingly leaving scene of accident resulting in death and causing a death while driving on the revoked list, said First Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Peter E. Warshaw Jr.

The Farmingdale man was driving a 1996 Dodge Ram van that was fashioned into an ice cream truck, said Warshaw. He was not selling ice cream at the time the accident occurred.

Authorities said the accident victim was a man in his 50s, but they cannot release his name because his family has not yet been notified. He was struck just after 7 p.m. Sunday on Route 35 North, near 18th Avenue.

Poland has been convicted of driving under the influence seven times and his license is suspended until 2030, said Michael Horan, a state Motor Vehicle Commission spokesman.

Poland's first DUI offense occurred in September 1981, in another state, records show. His license was suspended in 1982 for DUI and refusal to submit to a Breathalyzer test, then again for DUI in 1987, May 1988, November 1988, 1992 and 2006, according to Horan.

In some of those cases, Poland was also charged with driving with a suspended license, records show. His license has also been suspended administratively more than a dozen times, often for surcharge-related issues, records show.

Poland's bail was set at $150,000 cash-only, and before he can be released, he must turn in his car registration to Wall police.

"The Wall Township Police Department did a tremendous job in the investigation of this matter," Warshaw said. "Their tenacious effort led to a very quick arrest."

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Wall police at 732-449-4500.