MONROE — A Manalapan woman died in a motor vehicle crash after her vehicle struck a deer in Monroe Township, Middlesex County.
Nalani E. Tesalona, 29, was pronounced dead at the scene from head injuries, according to the Monroe Township Police Department.
Police said Tesalona was traveling west in a 2007 Pontiac G6 on Buckelew Avenue (Route 522) and approaching the county highway’s intersection with Gravel Hill- Spotswood Road when her vehicle struck a deer in the road at about 3:12 a.m. Nov. 25.
Following the impact with the deer, the vehicle left the road, crossed a Buckelew Avenue property, struck a tree and rolled over into a ditch, police said.
According to an obituary published online, Tesalona was born in Neptune and lived in Manalapan most of her life. She was a 2004 graduate of Manalapan High School and a 2008 graduate of St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia.
Tesalona was pursuing a master’s degree in microbiology and was working as a marine biologist studying leatherback sea turtles.
Tesalona is survived by her parents, Mariano and Nancy Tesalona of Manalapan; five siblings, Brandon Dorta, Adam Tesalona, Michael Tesalona, Tamika Lopez and Gena Santiago; two grandmothers, Gladys Montalvo and Lillian Tesalona; and a goddaughter, Isabelle.