An New Jersey college student was killed in a car crash involving a tractor-trailer recently, authorities say. The student was an 18-year-old from Millstone and currently remains unidentified. It’s unclear what caused this crash. However, with fatal car accidents such as these, there is a possibility that the decedent’s loved ones may be entitled to file a wrongful death suit, depending on the result of the investigation.
The crash occurred around 10 a.m. in New Egypt in early November, according to a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. According to the investigation’s preliminary information, a 19-year-old driver, whose identity has yet to be released, was operating a car in the southbound lane of a road. Then, for reasons not entirely clear, the car suddenly veered into the other lane of oncoming traffic.
The car crashed into an oncoming tractor-trailer, the spokesman said. The force of the impact forced the tractor-trailer off the road, where it ran into a tree. According to the spokesman, two Millstone teenagers occupied the car and were apparently en route to Stockton University, which is located in Galloway. The driver of the car as well as the driver of the tractor-trailer were rushed to a local medical center, while the passenger was pronounced dead.
This crash is currently still under investigation by the authorities. It is not entirely clear what caused the car to suddenly veer into the other lane of traffic. However, if the investigation concludes that the driver’s negligence caused or contributed to the passenger’s death, this might be used as evidence in a wrongful death suit that may be filed by the decedent’s loved ones in a New Jersey civil court. Such a suit may sometimes result in financial compensation that could be used to cover some of the costs often associated with fatal car accidents such as this one, including end-of-life expenses.
Source: nj.com, “Teen headed to college dies when car slams into a tractor-trailer“, Alex Napoliello, Nov. 9, 2015