A Monmouth County grand jury has indicted a Brick Township man accused of causing a deadly wrong-way crash on the Garden State Parkway last year, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Thursday.
Deryn R. Gomez, 24, is charged with second-degree vehicular homicide for a collision that killed 28-year-old Priscilla Gladden-Pertuz of Paterson.
According to investigators, the crash occurred at approximately 4:20 a.m. on October 26, 2024, in the southbound lanes of the Parkway near milepost 102.8 in Tinton Falls. New Jersey State Police responding to the scene discovered what they described as a violent, head-on collision involving three vehicles.
An investigation by State Police detectives and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office determined that Gomez was driving a 2013 Honda Accord northbound in the southbound lanes, traveling against traffic when he struck a 2002 Honda Civic driven by Gladden-Pertuz. After the initial impact, both crashed vehicles were hit by a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta traveling southbound.
Gladden-Pertuz was pronounced dead at the scene.
During the investigation, authorities issued Gomez multiple motor vehicle summonses, including driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, and driving against the flow of traffic.