College senior, actor dies in Route 1 crash with dump truck

WEST WINDSOR — A 21-year-old college student was killed in a crash Saturday after police said he drove through a red light Route 1.

A Toyota Corolla heading north just after 9 a.m. went through the light at Harrison Street as a dump truck with the green light was crossing the road at the jug handle, police in West Windsor said.

The impact caused the dump truck to overturn and the Corolla to flip onto its passenger side, according to police.

The driver of the car, a 21-year-old resident of the Kendall Park section of South Brunswick, was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the truck driver, a 22-year-old Princeton resident, was not injured.

Neither driver was identified by police in their initial statement about the crash and police not immediately return a request or more information on Tuesday morning. A GoFundMe page, however, identifies the driver of the Corolla as Dylan Gleason, a senior at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

"As a Delt, Dylan went out of his way to make everyone feel loved and welcomed. He upheld Delt values to their highest extent, and was the embodiment of 'truth, courage, faith and power.' He was committed to a life of excellence, and succeeded on every front," according to the campaign created by fraternity brother Thomas Riley.

The chaplain's office at Muhlenberg said in a written statement that Gleason was an honor student, presidential scholar and a theater major who enjoyed singing, acting and stage management.

"Heartbroken to learn of death of Muhlenberg student Dylan Gleason," Muhlenberg public health Assistant Professor Kathleen Bachynski wrote on Twitter. "His friends & family describe Dylan as a courageous, loving, resilient, talented, passionate & compassionate man who fiercely protected people, especially those who experienced injustices."

Dylan's father, Kenneth Gleason, said his son acted acted with the Crossroads South Middle School and South Brunswick High School theater groups, the New Jersey Reparatory Theatre and Villagers Theatre in Franklin, Somerset County.

"The world lost a good one. The world is not fair. And we are so terribly sad," Ken Gleason wrote on Facebook.

"Through his battles with ADHD and anxiety and depression, he worked so f’ing hard. And he was winning. Yet he never let any of his personal battles stop him from being there for anyone who needed it. He had the biggest heart, the kindest, gentlest soul. And while we are broken, in anguish for the selfish moments we will never enjoy – his graduation in May, a career, love, kids (he would have made the best husband and father) – we are equally sad that the people he would have touched will never have the chance to benefit from his light."

Funeral arrangements for Dylan Gleason have not yet been announced.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ