Aberdeen Officer Honored In Memory Of Woman Killed In DWI

ABERDEEN, NJ — An Aberdeen police officer was honored this past Friday, Dec. 20 for his efforts in combating drunk driving in the area, and was given an award in memory of a young Ocean County woman who was hit and killed by a drunk driver in 1998. She was three months pregnant at the time.

That woman is Kimberly Smith-Ames, 23, who was from Beachwood. According to the foundation started in her memory, Kimberly was hit on October 7, 1998 by what the non-profit described as "an extremely reckless" drunk driver in her hometown of Beachwood.

Kimberly, only 23 years old, and her unborn baby both died. She had just been married that past June, and was hit and killed by the car in October of that year.

Since the tragedy, her parents Ed and Carol Smith created an award that they give out to police officers in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

This past Friday, Aberdeen Patrolman Ronald Osadacz Jr. was presented with the 2019 award, announced Aberdeen Twp. police. Osadacs works in the Traffic Safety Division.

"The purpose of this award is to increase the public's awareness of the enormous commitment and determination put forward by the men and women of the Monmouth/Ocean County law enforcement community in educating and preventing driving while intoxicated offenses," said the Aberdeen police department.

“The guy who killed Kim blew through six stop signs yelling ‘hee, ha,’ ” her father told MyCentralJersey at the time. “He never put on his brakes. He was on drugs and alcohol. He had no license and no insurance. He was on the run. He tried to run down a sheriff’s officer in Florida. He had a criminal record a mile long. There were witnesses. One was a state trooper and another was the wife of a police officer.”

The man who hit her was charged with aggravated manslaughter; he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 13 years in prison, according to the report.