UPDATE: Police say 22-year-old driver was impaired at the time of the crash
A day after a head-on crash in Ewing seriously injured eight people, most remained hospitalized as they were treated for serious injuries ranging from head trauma to internal bleeding and multiple broken bones.
Two cars traveling in opposite directions collided on the 1800 block of Pennington Road in Ewing when one swerved across the center line around 2 a.m., Sunday police said.
Five of the injured are students at The College of New Jersey, the school confirmed Sunday.
They are:
- Danielle DeFlores, 21, an open options major from Brick.
- Matthew DeGenova, 21, an accounting major from Wall Township.
- Ryan Moore, 21, a marketing major from Midland Park.
- Michael Sot, 20, a math major from Clark.
- Anthony Galante, 19, a finance major from North Bellmore, New York.
Six people were traveling in a 2007 Dodge Charger and two were in a 2018 Kia Optima when the two vehicles collided, police said. In an early statement Sunday, police said they believe one car crossed the center line and struck the other vehicle, but did not indicate which car crossed the line.
Three of the passengers are still hospitalized and considered in critical condition, authorities said Monday morning. Four others are still hospitalized but now considered stable, while one 21-year-old man has since been released.
Galante, the youngest of the victims from the college, was undergoing surgery Monday to try to stop internal bleeding, according to his father, Frank Galante, of Long Island.
“Prayers for today. Today’s a big day,” he said Monday morning.
“They found the source of the internal bleeding and they’re going to stop that. If that all goes well and he stabilizes better, then they can do something tomorrow to fix his fractured pelvis,” he said.
His son, who is still in the intensive care unit, also has two broken shins and cracked ribs.
Galante said he, his wife and their 13-year-old son went to the hospital as soon as they got the news early Sunday morning. Anthony Galante has been sedated so they haven’t been able to speak to him.
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had in my life,” he said on the phone, holding back sobs.
He said his son is 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.
His father thinks that the same size that helped him as an athlete — he’s 6-foot-4 and about 230 pounds — may have helped him escape greater injury in the crash.
In the 24 hours since the school told students that five of their classmates were involved in the crash, multiple fundraising efforts have been started to help aide the families and students in their recovery.
Fellow students shared on social media that they were heartbroken by the incident and praying for the people involved.
TCNJ tweeted out a link to a GoFundMe campaign. The money will go toward medical expenses for the families. By mid-day Monday, the fund had raised nearly $54,000.
Others tweeted out links or shared separate fundraising efforts for DeFlores, for Sot, for Galante and for Moore.
“Please keep [the students] and their families and friends in your thoughts at this difficult time,” TCNJ said in a statement to the school community Sunday.
An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing by Ewing Police and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
Paige Gross may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @By_paigegross.
Rebecca Everett may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.