The wrecked vehicles on Pennington Road are gone and the shattered glass and debris has been cleaned up. Vehicle again travel up and down the road outside The College of New Jersey campus.
But The College of New Jersey still hurts, and probably will for some time, reeling from the head-on crash this past Sunday morning involving six college students, five from TCNJ.
One is dead. Five remain hospitalized.
Photo by Olivia Rizzo | NJ Advance Media
On Wednesday afternoon, TCNJ’s Student Government class council of 2021 held a poster singing for each of the students injured in the crash.
"We came up with the idea of giving them posters for the families and kind of presenting them with a gift of sorts," said Rupak Doctor student government member.
"I think it just shows that we’re more than a school - we’re a community. It shows solidarity it shows unity, even people who don’t even know any of these five people are coming up here to sign and show support," he said.
Here's the latest on the victims and the suspect police allege caused the crash:
NJ.com file photo of Sot playing baseball in high school, in 2017.
Michael Sot
Sot, a 20-year-old sophomore math major from Clark, died Tuesday from his injuries.
He was the designated driver, at the wheel for five friends in a Dodge Charger when a Kia Optima headed in the opposite direction crossed the center lines and slammed into the car. The other driver has been charged.
Sot was a brother of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity.
"Mike Sot was probably the kindest sweetest kid I've ever known," said Nicholas Ruyes a fellow brother of Phi Kappa Psi. "He was just always there to help us no matter what."
“We are heartbroken over the passing of Sot,” the national Phi Kappa Psi organization said in a statement. “Our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers are with the brothers’ families, friends and all who have been affected by this tragedy.”
A fundraiser set up by a family friend before he died, and who hailed him as "being a responsible designated driver and making sure his friends got home safe," has raised over $60,000.
UPDATE: Services announced for TCNJ sophomore killed in crash cops say was caused by drunk driver
Anthony Galante
Galante a 19-year-old a finance major from North Bellmore, New York, underwent surgery Monday to try to stop internal bleeding, according to his father, Frank Galante.
Galante previously told NJ Advance Media his son had internal bleeding, a fractured pelvis, two broken shins and cracked ribs.
"It’s the hardest thing I've ever had in my life," Galante said in a phone call with an NJ Advance Media reporter on Monday.
Anthony's father described his son as a big guy with a great sense of humor. He graduated in 2017 from Chaminade High School, a Catholic school where he played basketball, baseball and football.
"Galante is a pretty hard kid on the outside, but he has a soft side, and we know he’s going to make it we have faith in him," Ruyes said.
Photo by Olivia Rizzo | NJ Advance Media
Matthew DeGenova
A 21-year-old accounting major from Wall Township, DeGenova is known for his sense of humor and ability to make anyone laugh.
"Matt is one of the biggest goofballs I know," Ruyes said. "He's doing okay, as soon as he was conscious he was cracking jokes.
DeGenova is also a Bonner Community Scholar, a community service organization on TCNJ's campus, and recently completed an internship with KMPG, according to his LinkedIn page.
UPDATE: On Thursday, Dec. 6, the college said his condition had improved enough to be put in a rehab facility close to his home.
Ryan Moore
Moore, 21, from Midland Park, is a marketing major at TCNJ.
He underwent surgery for his injuries on Tuesday and is still considered to be in critical condition, according to a spokesperson from Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton.
Moore is the boyfriend of Jenna Passero, the one non-TCNJ student that was also in the car on Sunday.
"Ryan Moore is just a great kid he was always good to everyone one else and he is very strong too," Ruyes said of his friend.
A GoFundMe page set up for his family is filled with warm wishes, and hopes that he will make a speedy recovery.
Jenna Passero
Passero is 21-years old, also from of Midland Park, and attends Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. She was visiting Moore and hanging out with his friends before the accident occurred on Sunday.
She is in stable condition, she told NorthJersey.com, and says she remembers waking up in the car and seeing the cracked windshield and that everyone around her was bloody and unconscious.
She said the crash caused a laceration on her liver, three broken ribs on her right side, a bruised lung, a sprained ankle, five staples in her head, stitches in her chest, a concussion and the right side of her chest and her right shoulder are covered in burns and cuts, according to NorthJersey.com.
There's also a GoFundMe, Fund for Moore and Passero Families, page as well.
DeFlores, family photo
Danielle DeFlores
DeFlores' father, Dan DeFlores, said his 21-year-old daughter suffered hemorrhaging around the brain, a broken femur, a dislocated hip, a lacerated liver and a fractured hand.
But after days of waiting and a surgery to repair her leg, Danielle came out of sedation and is finally responsive again, he said.
“We’re super encouraged because 48 hours ago, we didn’t know if she was going to be around,” her father said in a phone interview with NJ Advance Media Wednesday.
His daughter started to respond, and could follow instructions to open her eyes and hold up a few fingers. The Brick resident is a senior and sings in one of TCNJ's a cappella groups, the Treblemakers.
“We were overjoyed because we realized maybe she’ll be okay,” he said.
But while the DeFlores family — including Danielle’s mother, Jenny, and her 15-year-old brother — are feeling such relief, they are also feeling the pain of the other families. They’ve met some at the hospital, including Ryan Moore’s parents.
“We’re pulling for him,” he said.
And while DeFlores said he doesn’t think his daughter knew Sot very well, he said “there’s a hole in our hearts, and it’s always going to be there.”
He said he’s also thinking of the young man who is charged with causing the crash.
“He made a very bad, tragic decision,” DeFlores said. “He has to live with that.”
David Lamar V, the suspect
Lamar, 22, of West Windsor, the other driver, has been charged with eight felony crimesand related traffic offenses for allegedly being impaired and trying to pass other cars when he crashed head-on into Sot's car.
Lamar is being held in Mercer County Correction Center in Hopewell Township awaiting a court hearing.
The prosecutor’s office said Wednesday it filed a motion to detain him until trial. His lawyer said Wednesday he maintains his innocence.
Lamar's passenger, a male, has not been publicly identified.
- Reporter Paige Gross contributed to this story
Olivia Rizzo may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @LivRizz. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Rebecca Everett may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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