A Colorado man accused of driving the wrong way on the New Jersey Turnpike and causing a head-on collision that killed four yeshiva bochurim early Sunday has been charged with multiple counts of manslaughter.
Christopher Neff, 41, of Westminster, Colorado, was charged Tuesday with four counts of first-degree manslaughter and three counts of second-degree reckless death by auto.
State Police say Neff was driving north in the southbound lanes of the Turnpike near Carneys Point around 12:40 a.m. when his white Dodge Ram pickup slammed head-on into a black Mazda CX-5 carrying four teenage boys. Moments later, an oncoming tractor-trailer struck the wrecked SUV, compounding the devastation.
The impact tragically killed all four occupants of the Mazda: Yaakov Kilberg z”l, 19, who was driving, Aharon Nosson Lebovits z”l, 18, and Shlomo Abba Cohen z”l, 18 — all from Lakewood — and Chaim Simcha Grossman z”l, 18, of Fallsburg, New York.
Neff sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he remains under treatment. The tractor-trailer driver was not injured.
Investigators have not disclosed whether drugs, alcohol, or excessive speed played a role in the crash. State Police and the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office are continuing to probe the circumstances surrounding Neff’s wrong-way driving.
The crash occurred near milepost 1.3, close to the Delaware Memorial Bridge — a section of highway that sees heavy overnight truck traffic. Authorities temporarily closed the southbound lanes for several hours as first responders, including Misaskim volunteers, worked to recover the victims and coordinate with families to ensure kavod hameis.
If convicted, Neff faces decades in prison. He is expected to make his first court appearance later this week in Salem County Superior Court.
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Police said Neff was heavily intoxicated at the time of the crash, with a blood alcohol level reportedly more than twice the legal limit. He also faces weapons charges after officers found hollow-point ammunition in his vehicle.
Investigators later learned Neff had been drinking at a nearby bar less than an hour before the tragedy. He remains hospitalized with multiple injuries.
Manslaughter? This was MURDER!! Anyone who drives recklessly in the wrong lane, or the wrong way down a street, or drives while drunk, KNOWS BYEOND A DOUBT that they are VERY LIKELY to kill someone with their recklessness, so it is NOT an accident! It is premeditated and intentional murder!
@abcd1: your reaction is understandable, but not correct. to charge him with murder, the prosecution would have to prove intent, which is difficult to prove. homicide is more appropriate, imho, because his actions were reckless and resulted in death, without being directed against a specific individual. but the bigger problem here is that the punishment for killing 4 people will be exactly the same as if he had killed 1 person. this is unjust.
Shloime; He was charged with 4 counts of first-degree manslaughter and three counts of second-degree reckless death by auto. Why will his punishment be the same as if he killed one person?