Police ID pedestrians killed in Rt. 22 crash as East Brunswick residents

BRIDGEWATER — Police have identified the two pedestrians killed in an early morning crash on Route 22 as East Brunswick residents.

In a statement Thursday, Bridgewater police said Robert Gibbons, 29, and Magdalene Allen, 23, were killed after being struck by a 2004 Toyota Sienna driven by Xu Chenfei, 41, of Flushing.

According to police, Gibbons and Allen were walking in the left lane of Route 22 west near Adamsville Road at about 3:12 a.m. when they were struck by Chengfei's vehicle.

The two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Chengfei was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Somerset for non-life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.

The crash took place in front of the Bridgewater Diner in the wide median which separates the east and westbound lanes. According to its website the diner closed at midnight. There is a hotel across the highway that is accessible from the right lane.

Following the fatal crash, the westbound lanes remained closed until 9 a.m. between Route 287 and Gaston Avenue as police investigated. The ramp from northbound Route 287 to Route 22 west was also closed and bus service through the area was interrupted, according to NJ Transit.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation by Bridgewater Township Police Department Traffic Safety Bureau and the Somerset County Accident Reconstruction Team. Police are asking any witnesses or anyone with information about the accident to call Bridgewater Township Traffic Safety Officer Douglas Thorsen at 908-722-4111, Ext. 4154.

Dan Alexander contributed to this report.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.