Ocean County, NJ man dies in crash at Mass. college

🔴 Frankie Petillo Jr. was struck on the campus of UMass Dartmouth Thursday afternoon

🔴 He was a freshman bioengineering student at the Massachusetts school

🔴 Petillo was a member of the Our Gang Players theater group

A college student from New Jersey was killed in a car crash on the campus of a Massachusetts college Thursday afternoon.

Frankie Petillo, Jr., 19, of the Manahawkin section of Strafford, was struck by a car on Ring Road on the campus of UMass Dartmouth around 5:30 p.m., according to the Bristol County, Massachusetts District Attorney's Office. He was taken to a hospital where he later died.

The driver of the Honda Accord that struck Petillo, also a student, remained at the scene. No charges have been filed.

"No words can express the tragic loss of our son Frankie," his father, Frank A. Petillo Sr. wrote on his Facebook page.

Petillo is a member of the Southern Regional High School Class of 2022.

A candlelight vigil is being held Monday for Petillo and another UMass Dartmouth student, Alexandra Landry, who passed away within 24 hours. A cause of death for Landry was not disclosed.

Frank Petillo Jr. (Frank Petillo Jr.)

Active in lacrosse and theater

Petillo was a freshman bioengineering student at UMass Dartmouth. Friends told WCVB TV that Petillo played club lacrosse and was a member of the theater club. He was also a member of the Mu Chapter of Sigma Phi Rho Fraternity.

Friends on Facebook remembered him as a member of the Our Gang Players theater group.

"This has been a very difficult week for the Corsair community. We feel a collective pain even if we do not personally know those who have passed. We sit in class together. We work together. We pass each other in the halls. We are often more connected than we realize," Chancellor Mark A. Fuller said in a statement to the community.

Petillo's death also spurred a call for safety improvements to the UMass Dartmouth campus. An online petition calling for the addition of speed bumps, speed monitors, sidewalks, and stop lights with crosswalks to Ring Road which encircles the campus.

Kate Robinson of Townsquare Media's WBSM in New Bedford, Mass contributed to this report

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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