Freehold accident victims identified

The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Wednesday identified the three people killed in a multi-vehicle accident in Freehold and issued an appeal for witnesses to the crash to come forward.

Fatal accident on Kosloski Road in Freehold (CBS New York)

Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Marc C. LeMieux, identified the deceased as Nicholas J. Dever, 19 of Freehold Borough, Noelle DeLuccio, 20, of Howell and Thomas J. Koller, 50 of Freehold Township.

LeMieux described the accident as "horrific" and "tragic." He said a Volkswagen Jetta heading south, driven by Dever, veered into the opposite lane, hitting a Honda Pilot SUV driven by Koller.

The impact spun the two vehicles in a counter-clockwise direction, lifting the Pilot into the air before it landed on top of a Toyota Camry. DeLuccio was a passenger in the Jetta. LeMieux said all three victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

The 25-year-old unidentified male driver of the Camry remains hospitalized in “extreme” critical condition according to LeMieux. Investigators are trying to determine what caused the Jetta to veer and have not ruled out “the possibility of distracted driving” due to cell phone use. The investigation has not identified vehicle speed as a factor.

Airbags in the vehicles deployed and all four victims were wearing seatbelts.

Witnesses to the accident are being urged to contact the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-522-8885 or Freehold Police at 732-462-7908.

Annette Petriccione also contributed to this report.