Early reports from multiple outlets noted suspected intoxication by the wrong-way driver.
Four young men from the Tri-State Orthodox community were killed early Sunday when a wrong-way pickup truck hit their SUV head-on on the New Jersey Turnpike just north of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, in Carneys Point Township.
State Police say the crash happened around 12:40 a.m. near milepost 1.3 on the southbound lanes.
According to investigators, a Dodge pickup driven by Christopher Neff, 41, of Westminster, Colorado, was traveling north in the southbound lanes when it collided with a southbound Mazda SUV driven by Yaakov Kilberg, 19, of Lakewood, New Jersey.
A Freightliner tractor-trailer traveling behind the Mazda then struck the car after the initial impact. Kilberg and his three passengers — identified by authorities as Aharon (Aharon/Ahron Nosson) Lebovits, 18, Shlomo (Shloime Abba) Cohen, 18, both of Lakewood, and Chaim (Chaim Simcha) Grossman, 18, of Fallsburg, New York — were pronounced dead at the scene.
Neff sustained serious injuries; the truck-tractor driver was not hurt.
New Jersey State Police closed the Turnpike’s southbound lanes in the area for hours while troopers documented the scene and cleared debris.
Early reports from multiple outlets noted suspected intoxication by the wrong-way driver; as of publication, State Police said the investigation is ongoing and no charges have been announced.
The collision occurred at the southern end of the Turnpike, a corridor that funnels heavy overnight traffic toward the Delaware River crossing.
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