Grief and giving: NJ college student loses parents, sister in Parkway crash

☑️ Max Dryerman's mother, father and sister died in a Parkway crash

☑️ He has created a GoFundMe fundraiser to continue his college education

☑️ Max also wants to donate to charities supported by his family

WOODCLIFF LAKE — After losing his father, mother and sister in a crash on the Garden State Parkway late Saturday night, the surviving member of the Dryerman family started a GoFundMe fundraiser to pay for his college education.

David Dryerman, 54, the driver of a Tesla S, went off the northbound Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge near the Metropark exit, according to State Police. The vehicle struck a sign, a guardrail and a concrete bridge support. Dryerman, his 17-year-old daughter Brooke and wife Michelle, 54, were killed in the crash.

Brooke's Instagram page shows they were at the Sea. Hear. Now Festival in Asbury Park earlier in the day.

A funeral was held Tuesday in Valhalla, New York for all three.

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Tuition and charitable donations

Max Dryerman, 19, was not with his family during the crash.

He just began classes at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He is also starting a co-op position with Naval Sea Systems Command to work with Navy engineers, according to his Linkedin page.

He has started a GoFundMe fundraiser to continue his education and to donate to several charities in his family's name. Over $117,000 was donated as of Wednesday morning.

One of the charities Max is considering is Camp Raspberry, an after-school program for children with special needs. Brooke was vice president of the Pascack Hills High School chapter, according to the GoFundMe page. He may also donate to an unnamed organization supporting teens battling anxiety and depression.

Rabbi Yosef Orenstein told the Daily Voice that the Dryerman family was active in the Valley Chabad Jewish Center's CTeen and Friendship Circle.

Woodcliff Lake Mayor Carlos Rendo and state Sen. Holly Shapisi, R-Bergen, offered support for the fundraiser. Rendo said donations were being accepted by the borough for a bench at a new park through the borough's parks and recreation department.

State Police said an investigation into the crash is ongoing.

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