Teens killed in single-vehicle accident in East Brunswick

By THOMAS CASTLES
Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK — Two teenagers were killed shortly after their vehicle ran off the roadway on Dutch Road and struck a telephone pole Nov. 30.

Jeffrey Szatkowski, 17, of Spotswood, was driving southbound on Dutch Road with Nicole Surace, 18, of Milltown, in the passenger seat when his 2004 Ford Mustang ran off the roadway around 7:50 p.m.

After hitting the utility pole, the vehicle overturned in the wooded area nearby and struck a tree before coming to a stop on its roof.

Szatkowski and Surace were transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Both occupants were pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after their arrival.

According to their Facebook pages, the two teenagers were in a relationship for about a year.

Surace was a first-year student at Monmouth University and a former Spotswood High School cheerleader who was home visiting family during Thanksgiving break, according to university President Dr. Paul Brown.

“The university regrets the untimely death of a member of our community and extends its deep sympathies to her family and friends at this most difficult time. The loss of such a young person is truly tragic,” he said.

Szatkowski was a senior at Spotswood High School and a member of the varsity football and baseball teams.

Spotswood Superintendent of Schools Scott Rocco said students were notified of the current and former students’ passing on Dec. 2.

“Counseling services and resources were provided to the students and staff throughout the school day,” Rocco wrote in an address to district parents and guardians. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of these two young people during this very difficult time.”

Several hundred students and community members gathered at Spotswood Borough Hall on the evening of Dec. 2 for a candlelight vigil led by Monsignor Joseph Curry of Immaculate Conception Church and the Rev. Marshall Shelly of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.

“It’s almost like we’ve been hit by a wave and knocked down and we don’t know exactly what to do,” Curry said. “But we know that the best way to get back up is to … gather as a community and stand together.”

Addressing the crowd as they raised hundreds of candles above their heads, Shelly stressed the importance of togetherness.

“We are at a moment of loss, but I ask you to remember that you are not alone. If you need proof of that, look around you and see the faces of your neighbors and friends, and remember that you are always with each other,” Shelly said.

Hillary Crute Johnson of Trinity United Methodist Church sang several hymns, accompanied on piano by Bishop Nickolaos Brown, pastor of Ignite: Church in Old Bridge.

The fact that so many community members came together so quickly to support the teenagers’ friends and families shows that Spotswood is a tightly knit community, Councilwoman Margaret Drozd said.

The circumstances surrounding the single vehicle collision are being investigated. Anyone who was a witness or has any information regarding the collision was asked to contact Patrolman James Angermeier of the East Brunswick Police Department’s Special Operations Section at 732-390- 6969.