Surgeon From Ocean County Dies In Parkway Crash In Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A surgeon from Toms River died Thursday after his car ran off the Garden State Parkway in Lakewood, authorities said.

Jarrod P. Kaufman, 54, a founding member of Premier Surgical in Brick, died in the crash that happened near milepost 88.2 northbound, staff at his medical office confirmed Friday morning.

The crash happened about 7:10 a.m. Thursday when Kaufman's Tesla Model Y veered off the road into a briar patch, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Jeffrey Lebron said Friday.

Kaufman suffered a medical episode and was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, Lebron said. The crash remains under investigation.

"He led the most incredible life and touched countless lives with his kindness, care and generosity," Kaufman's daughter, Victoria, said in a public post on Facebook. "As a devoted husband, father, son, brother, uncle, friend, cousin, and surgeon, he will be missed for eternity. There are truly no words to express our sadness."

She said the funeral service is set for 11 a.m. Monday at Shirat Hayam in Ventnor.

Dozens of condolences had been posted in the comments on her post, with people describing him as warm, wonderful, kind, funny and amazing.

"He was one of the funniest most altruistic people I knew," one woman said.

"He was one of those rare souls who made the world a better place," a man wrote.

Kaufman, a general and laparascopic surgeon, was a founding member of Premier Surgical Group and Premier Vein Center in Brick, and was affiliated with Ocean University Medical Center in Brick and with Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood. He also had offices in Monmouth and Camden counties.

"It is my belief that every patient deserves concierge-level personalized medical experience, a responsive and empathetic staff, and high-level and innovative care," Kaufman said on his Linked In page.

He was president of Hernia Repair for the Underserved, leading surgical humanitarian missions "dedicated to helping educate foreign surgeons and treat underserved populations for inguinal hernia repair," according to his LinkedIn page.

Kaufman also was a clinically affiliated faculty member at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, where his biography called him "a laparoscopic surgeon, public speaker, medical consultant, cancer prevention advocate and surgical mission team leader."

Kaufman "devoted his career to the learning and advancement of cutting-edge treatments and procedures. In his private practice, he performs minimally invasive surgery, surgical oncology, treats complicated hernias, anorectal diseases, provides wound care and minimally invasive vein procedures," the McGowan biography said.

Kaufman also had served as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at Temple University School of Medicine and had served as the chairman of surgery at Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus Hospital.

In addition, Kaufman had served as the New Jersey chair of the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons and was the emeritus chair of the Melanoma Workgroup: NJ Governor’s Task Force on Cancer Prevention, Early Detection & Treatment.

He graduated from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, with a bachelor's in biology in 1993, and attended Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel, earning his medical degree in May 1997.