Crash that killed NJ teen caused by swatting at insect, authorities say

A teen driver and passenger were swatting at an insect their car when it crashed on Route 539, killing the passenger on Nov. 9, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Investigators said that the 1995 Chevy Camaro Z28, driven by Dylan Magee, 19, of Millstone, drifted into the path of a tractor trailer in Plumstead. The crash killed Magee's passenger, Alexander Pannizzo, 18, also of Millstone.

Both are students at Stockton University. Magee and the driver of the truck, Norman Bird, 73, of Allentown, were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, authorities said.

"This accident highlights how even the slightest driving distraction can have tragic consequences," Ocean County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Al Della Fave said in a statement. Several Ocean County law enforcement agencies joined forces in August and September for the Police Partnership for a Safer Routse County Route 539 in an effort to reduce fatalities on the 38-mile, two-lane road where 11 people have died since 2013.

No charges have been filed in the incident.