Cops say the driver charged in a deadly collision on the New Jersey Turnpike over the weekend had been drinking for hours before he plowed his vehicle into an SUV carrying 4 teens, killing them all.
Christopher Neff, a 41-year-old from Colorado, was spotted at the Turnpike Inn in Carney’s Point prior to the crash in the early hours of Sunday morning, NJ Advance Media reported. Investigators said he was driving a Dodge pickup truck northbound in the southbound lanes when he slammed head-on into a Mazda CX-5, near the 1.3 milepost in Salem County some 25 miles southwest of Philadelphia.
The SUV then immediately collided with a tractor-trailer.
Neff’s blood alcohol content was 0.22%, about three times the legal limit, at the time of the crash, according to the affidavit of probable cause. A subsequent search of the truck turned up several firearms, including an AR-style rifle equipped with a suppressor and hollow-point bullets, a short-barreled rifle, a handgun, a BB gun, several high-capacity magazines, and over 100 rounds of ammunition. Investigators also found psilocybin mushrooms and methadone inside the vehicle.
Authorities also noted that Neff had a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating” from his breath following the crash, per NBC 10, citing court documents. He is currently receiving treatment in a an area hospital for fractures to both legs, a broken arm and several other injuries.
Those killed in the crash include 19-year-old Yaakov Kilberg — the driver of the Mazda — 18-year-old Aharon Lebovits; and 18-year-old Shlomo Cohen, all of who are from Lakewood Township, Ocean County. The fourth man was meanwhile identified as 18-year-old Chaim Grossman from Fallsburg, New York.
Neff faces four counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter and another four counts of second-degree homicide in connection with their deaths. He was also charged with one count of unlawful possession of a handgun and a count of possession of hollow point ammunition.
