Community Raises $74K For Union Co. Man Killed In Car Accident

UNION COUNTY, NJ — The community has rallied around the family of Steven Neves De Oliveria, an Elizabeth resident who was struck and killed at the intersection of Rt. 1 North and Randolph Avenue while repairing a flat tire on his truck.

A GoFundMe for his family was just launched on Tuesday and has already raised over $74,000.

The 36-year-old was killed in the accident on Saturday night after his car was struck in the rear by a pickup truck in the area of the Routes 1 and 9 overpass between Randolph and East Milton Avenues.

The fundraiser will benefit his wife Diane and their one-year-old twin boys Ethan and Grayson.

"Steve was an incredibly selfless person who always knew how to have fun in every situation and had a natural knack to make those around him laugh," the GoFundMe states. "He was a wonderful son and loving older brother with countless friends and family that all saw him as a role model and a hard-working family man."

"Steve’s greatest joys in life were his boys and he couldn’t wait to move them into the new home he had just bought so they could begin making memories together. He had left from fixing up that very house and was on his way home to his family when this awful tragedy struck," the GoFundMe says.

According to his obituary, Oliveira was originally born in Belleville.

He is survived by his wife Diane Bento De Oliveira, his sons, Ethan and Grayson, his brothers, Matthew Parente and Gabriel Parente of Elizabeth, his parents, Cidalia Neves Parente and Fernando Parente of Elizabeth and his grandparents, Isilde Neves and Maria Piedade Diegues.

To view the GoFundMe, visit: https://gf.me/v/c/zkcx/steve-chopz