Driver Was Drunk In Fatal Wrong-Way Crash On Parkway, Prosecutors Say

FREEHOLD, NJ — A Brick Township man has been indicted in a fatal head-on crash on the Garden State Parkway where he was driving drunk, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said.

Deryn R. Gomez, 24, was indicted on a charge of second-degree vehicular homicide by a Monmouth County grand jury in the Oct. 26, 2024 crash that killed Priscilla Gladden-Pertuz, 28, of Paterson, the prosecutor's office said.

New Jersey State Police responded about 4:20 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2024 to a three-car crash in the southbound lanes of the Parkway near milepost 102.8 in Tinton Falls, prosecutors said.

Investigators determined that Gomez was driving a 2013 Honda Accord north in the southbound lanes of the Parkway when he hit a 2002 Honda Civic driven by Gladden-Pertuz, who was going south.

After the initial impact, both cars were hit by a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta that was driving south. Prosecutors did not identify that driver except to say it was a man.

Gladden-Pertuz died at the scene, the prosecutor's office said.

During the investigation, Gomez was issued motor vehicle summonses for driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, and driving against the flow of traffic, prosecutors said.