UPDATED: Separate Parkway Crashes A Mile Apart Leave One Dead, One Facing DWI Charge
Paramus man killed in first crash; second crash 11 minutes later a mile farther north sends driver to hospital
A 27-year-old from Paramus was killed and a 23-year-old from Neptune was charged with drunken driving after two unrelated crashes on the northbound Garden State Parkway minutes apart Saturday morning, state police said.
The first accident, at mile marker 86.2, occurred about 7 a.m., when the 2003 Toyota Corolla left the road and crashed, killing Jeffrey Rosenberg of Paramus, according to N.J. State Trooper Christopher Kay.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that the driver lost of control of the vehicle and ran off the left side of the roadway, overcorrected (a turn back to the right), spun around clockwise and then left the right side of the roadway. At that point, the car overturned and went into a grass embankment, striking a tree,” said Kay, who said the initial call came in at 7:03 a.m.
While police and emergency personnel were still attending to that scene, a second crash occurred just a mile further north, Kay said, with the call coming in at 7:14 a.m. that a 2003 white Lexus had left the road and struck a tree at mile marker 87.2.
In that incident, Justin Schwartz of Neptune, who was reportedly traveling in the center lane, lost control and went off the right side of the road. The car spun and struck a tree on the driver's side, trapping Schwartz.
Schwartz, who was extricated by the Toms River Fire Department and airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, is listed in stable condition there, Kay said.
“Sufficient evidence existed at the scene to charge Schwartz with DWI and careless driving,” Kay said, noting that the roads were clear and dry at the time of both crashes.
Assisting at the scene of the first crash were the Pleasant Plains Fire Department and the Ocean County Medical Examiner's Office, Kay added.
The trooper urged anyone with information on either accident to call the Bass River Station of the New Jersey State Police at 609-296-1027.
barbara
6:59 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
geesh, horrible.........
David Daur
6:59 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Another tragic loss of life for someone returning home from the Atlantic City casinos. This area on the Parkway is like our personal Bermuda Triangle for gamblers.
Ken
6:59 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Both probably up all night in AC!
Poster Name
6:59 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Has anyone considered that the drunk driver CAUSED the first driver to overcorrect (perhaps to avoid the drunk driver's actions), causing the first crash which resulted in the fatality? The DWI was obviously driving erratically to crash the way he did (just ONE mile north???), just minutes after the first fatal crash.
Eleven minutes between the crash being called in does not mean --precisely --that's when it happened. I drove through the crash scene this morning while the cleanup was underway, so I am not an eyewitness to the crash --but the scene was devastating. Sympathies to the families.
njmom
10:44 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Good point.
Just me
10:44 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
I like your way of thinking,and to DAVID DAUR ,how do you know where they were both coming from or going to?? Maybe the one that was killed could have been a RN or an EMT or a Paramedic or Firefighter that just worked a triple shift.....
George
10:44 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Work on your reading comprehension... The drunk driver was 1 mile morth, not the dead guy (although he was possibly intoxicated, too).
GSP troopers should set up a DWI checkpoint just north of AC every Fri.-Sun. night and make a fortune for NJ taxpayers -- while saving lives. Then the casinos would actually pay off!
.
6:59 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Not even summer yet!
Clyde
10:44 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Stupid drunks never learn. Like mosquitos they will always be there. Keep nailing them, Troops before they kill.
Inside Looking Out
10:44 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Glad you all have the answers. As a matter of fact the two crashes were completely unrelated. The fatal happening sometime overnight and not being discovered in the woods til sun up. The second young man coming home from a friends house.... Uneducated and Misinformed, keep up the good work casting judgement.
Just me
10:44 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
OH, and lets PLEASE all try to remember no matter what you think these two were doing or where they were coming from or going to THEY WERE SOME ONES SONS or boyfriend or husband or even father so before you slam there name into the ground THINK about that PLEASE.
Laci
10:44 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
It always seems to be a trees fault. Drive the parkway south of Exit 80, with the expansion and you can see all the pine trees that were killed with a sign saying "Entering Pine Lands Reserve".
Trees don't hit cars, it's the opposite with excessive speeds above the posted speed limit.
bob
10:44 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
It is kinda odd that the drunk driver crashed a mile north....makes you wonder if these two crashes were related. Terrible either way. God bless those involved.
Smot Revir
10:44 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
According to an updated story, it was Global Warming and Obama that caused the accidents.Stay tuned for further developments.
KC
10:44 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Its bad enough another young life was lost, no where in this article does it state that either of them came from AC. Also it doesn't say if it was north or southbound on the parkway. You can't just assume that the guy that had the DWI accident cause the other driver too crash. 1st of all 1 mile apart on the parkway takes a min or less to travel, 2nd if they were both going southbound then then the DWI guy never passed the 1st guy and 3rd they could have been going opposite directions on the parkway.
g
10:44 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
the driver lost of control of the vehicle
Kathie Bottazzi
3:22 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Thoughts and prayer to all and their respective families... Loss of any young life is horrible..perhaps a lesson learned is the only positive which could possibly be found in this sad tale....my deepest sympathy.. There are no other words.
E M C
3:33 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012
The article clearly states that both accidents occurred on the Northbound side of the pkwy. Ck YOUR reading comprehension, and the 1st sentence of the article. Good point about the drunk driver possibly causing 1st accident before continuing North. I wish there were more police presence on the pkwy for these erratic drivers. Especially this time of year. Especially the motorcyclists that weave in and out of heavy traffic at high rates of speed. Is especially hard to see them when they're coming up on your right to pass. I wish these were the only accidents that we were going to hear about this year. Wouldn't that be nice? Be extra careful everybody. My heartfelt condolences to the families of these young people.
Joseph Herbert
2:25 am on Monday, June 4, 2012
One thing the parkway crowd could do would be to make those rumble strips a whole lot wider and louder. Until recently I was a long haul tractor trailer driver and that road makes me sleepy! I just drove in from North Carolina, overnighting in DC, and I was fine till I got on the Parkway. I stopped at the Forked River Plaza for some Starbucks.
Bob Hockenfrocken
2:42 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
Where is any information in this article that indicates these people were in Atlantic City? Making uninformed assumptions is ridiculous.