Crime & Safety

Investigation Into Fatal Friday Night Lakehurst Crash Ongoing

Crash killed Jackson Memorial baseball player, injured three others

The investigation into a fatal Friday night two-car collision near the Route 37 circle is ongoing, according to officials.

Deputy Chief Michael Mohel of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and Sgt. Ron Heinzman, press officer for the Lakehurst Police Department, said that officers continue to investigate the violent two-car accident, which occurred at 8:45 p.m. on May 13 near Brown Avenue on Route 37.

According to police, James Volpe, 17, the back seat passenger in a 2004 Lincoln, was killed in the crash which split the vehicle in two upon impact.

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Mohel said that the autopsy of Volpe was completed on Sunday at Community Medical Center in Toms River and that the manner of death was determined to be accidental resulting from multiple injuries.

It may take a week or longer until the full findings of the crash are released, according to Heinzman.

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Volpe, a senior reserve outfielder and an often used designated runner for Jackson Memorial High School, was reportedly ejected from the vehicle after the car in which he was a passenger collided with another vehicle, a 2001 Ford Escape driven by Robert Vallee, 41, of Manchester.

Vallee was taken by helicopter to the trauma unit at Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune where on Monday he remains in critical condition, according to the hospital's public relations manager Robert Cavanaugh.

Vallee was exiting the Lakehurst circle onto Route 37 East when the accident took place, according to the police investigation.

According to police, Alex Daniele and Christopher Russo, both 17, and are Jackson Memorial High School baseball players, were in the front seat of the Lincoln. They were transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River with minor injuries, police reported. They were treated at the hospital and released on Saturday.

Mohel did not reveal which teen was driving at the time of the accident, but sources have told  Patch that is was Daniele.

According to initial reports, police said Volpe was thrown from the auto on impact. He was found to be in cardiac arrest, according to police at the scene. 

Volpe was pronounced dead at the scene, at about 9:30 p.m., police said. 

Investigators confirmed that all three players were riding in the same auto.

EMS personnel who were first to respond to the scene requested two ALS ambulance units, MONOC paramedics and the MONOC 1 medevac helicopter to the scene.

The wreckage of the two vehicles, because they are extensively damaged, may indicate whether or not speed was a factor in the accident, Mohel said.

Volpe was best known for his wit and his love of the baseball Mets and the football Jets.  He was planning to attend Kean University in the fall.

Russo, also a senior,  who went 3-for-3 at bat and helped Jackson Memorial overcome a 5-0 deficit on Thursday in the Jaguars' 7-5 victory over Toms River North in the quarterfinals of the Ocean County Baseball Tournament.

According to the high school sports website MaxPreps.com, he was batting .353 with two home runs and 18 RBI.  He plays first base and but is mostly used as a designated hitter.

Daniele, a junior,  is a starting pitcher on the Jaguars.  He has given up only five runs in 19 innings pitched with a 3-0 record and a 1.84 earned run average.  He has 20 strikeouts in 19 innings. 

Jackson Memorial (15-3), the No. 2 seed in the tournament, was scheduled to play No. 14-seed Lacey at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the semifinals but all games in the OCT were postponed indefinitely because of the fatal crash.

In the first game at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Toms River High School North, Brick was to play Toms River South.

According to tournament officials, there will be no games played until Jackson Memorial school officials say they are prepared to resume play.

Volpe's teammates, many with tears in their eyes, gathered at the school's baseball field on Saturday, recalling to mind stories about him.  It was a very emotional meeting in the rain, according to eyewitness reports.

Parents of Jackson Memorial players also came to the school and many of them were seen crying.

A candlelight vigil was planned on Saturday night at the Holbrook Little League on Bartley Road in Jackson, where Volpe was an all-star Little League player.

The Manchester Fire Company, Ocean County Station 32, also was dispatched to the scene on Friday night as a mutual aid company to assist the Barnegat Fire Company, Ocean County Station 11.

Because of the accident and the subsequent investigation, Route 37 was closed from Colonial Drive to the Routes 37/70 circle, according to an eyewitness. Traffic was being detoured down Colonial Drive to Route 70, the eyewitness told Patch.com.

It was not known how long the roadway was closed while police and the Prosecutor's Office conducted their investigation of the accident.

The Lakehurst, Manchester and Toms River police departments all responded to the accident scene as well as security personnel from the nearby Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station.

Investigators are asking anyone with information about the accident to contact Detective David Margentino of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office at 732-929-2027, Ext. 2946, or Lakehurst Patrolman Matthew Kline at 732-657-7812, Ext. 312. 


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