Three victims identified in fatal Freehold motor vehicle crash
Three people are dead from a horrific car crash in Freehold on Tuesday afternoon.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor's office Wednesday identified the victims as:
- Noelle DeLuccio, 20, of Howell;
- Nicholas J. Dever, 19, of Freehold Borough;
- Thomas J. Koller, 50, of Freehold Township
The accident on Kozloski Road in Freehold took place around 4 p.m, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, when a Volkswagen Jetta heading towards Route 33 veered into the opposite lane, hitting a Honda Pilot SUV. The Jetta & the Pilot turned in a counter-clockwise direction as a result of the collision, sending the Pilot airborne, landing on top of a Toyota Camry.
The driver of the Pilot, Koler, and the driver of the Jetta, Dever, were killed in the crash along with DeLuccio, who was a passenger in the Jetta. The 25-year-old male driver of the Camry is in "extreme" critical condition according to the Prosecutor's Office.
Witnesses to the accident describe a terrible scene that took several hours to clear. “The one car was half gone — there was nothing left to it, except from the windshield back,” Kristi Munis, who saw the impact from her home, told CBS New York. “They did get one person out of the car and they Medevaced them. The helicopter landed right here in the field.”
Rio Franciosa of Farmingdale recalls hearing a "long screech followed by a big bang" just before the accident, according to the Asbury Park Press.
Investigators have not offered a reason the Jetta veered into the path of the Pilot but some are pointing to speed and inattentive driving as possible causes. "You have to pay attention every second you're behind that vehicle, because that vehicle can become a weapon at any point in time if you do not pay attention," said Monmouth County first assistant prosecutor Marc LeMieux at a press conference according to NBC 4 New York.
Witnesses to the accident are urged to contact the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office at 732-522-8885 or Freehold Police at 732-462-7908.
MORE COVERAGE:
- Freehold crash victims identified / Asbury Park Press
- 3 Dead, 1 badly hurt in Freehold, NJ multi-car wreck / ABC 7
- Three People Killed In Multi-Vehicle Crash In Freehold, N.J. / CBS New York
- 3 Dead, 1 Critically Hurt in Violent Head-On New Jersey Crash: Officials / NBC 4 New York