BREAKING NEWS: DUI charge leveled against teen driver in fatal accident
Three young women died on Sept. 10 in afternoon crash
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer
JACKSON — The teenager who was driving a car in which her three passengers died in a Sept. 10 motor vehicle accident has been charged with driving while under the influence.
Authorities declined to specify what substance or substances they believe the driver was under the influence of.
The DUI charge against Nicole N. Greenberg, 17, of Jackson, was recently added to other violations with which Greenberg had previously been charged: careless driving, failure to stay within marked lanes, violation of provisional driver’s license requirements, and a seat belt violation.
Capt. Mike Mohel, media relations officer for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, told the Tri-Town News on Jan. 18 that Greenberg was charged with DUI, a motor vehicle summons. He said he believed she received that summons Dec. 12.
According to authorities, in the late afternoon hours of Sept. 10 Greenberg was driving a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer on East Veterans Highway (Route 528) just south of the Van Hiseville Road intersection near the Jackson Little League field when she lost control of her vehicle, crossed the center line of the road and impacted a 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier.
The accident claimed the lives of Jackson residents Julie Tracy, 17, and Alexandra Tenneriello, 19. Kristen O’Hara, 19, of Dania, Fla., a former resident of Jackson who graduated from Jackson Memorial High School, also died in the accident.
None of the four people in Greenberg’s car was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, according to police.
The driver of the Chevrolet, Natercia Clanton, 33, of Waretown, her mother, Rosa Moco, and her sister, Anabela Moco, 31, were wearing seat belts, police said. They were taken to area hospitals and later released.
The charge against Greenberg for violating the requirements of her provisional driver’s license is based on the circumstances that she had more than one unrelated person in a car she was operating while holding the provisional license.
On Dec. 12, the Jackson government initiated a provisional driver identification sticker program. The program is being supported by the Township Council in conjunction with the Jackson Police Department.
Parents who have children who are licensed under the provisional driver’s license program are being asked to voluntarily identify the young individuals’ vehicles with a sticker.
That sticker would give voluntary consent by the parent of the provisional driver to the police department to stop their minor children in order to check for the possibility of violations of the terms of the provisional driver’s license. As of Jan. 18, only two parents had obtained the stickers for vehicles that are driven by their teenage children, according to police. Provisional driver identification stickers are available at Jackson police headquarters.