Wrong-Way, Drunk Driver Charged With Manslaughter After 4 Teens Die On NJ Highway: Docs

CARNEYS POINT, NJ — A man accused of driving down the wrong side of the highway and causing a crash that killed four teenagers was driving drunk at nearly triple the legal limit, according to court records Patch obtained.

Christopher Neff, 41, of Westminster, Colorado, drove on the wrong side of the New Jersey Turnpike early Sunday and struck an SUV head-on in Carneys Point, authorities said. All four people in the SUV died, and Neff was hospitalized with serious injuries.

Neff was charged Tuesday with four counts of first-degree manslaughter and four counts of second-degree vehicular homicide. Patch first reported the charges.

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He was also charged with second-degree possession unlawful possession of a weapon (handgun) and fourth-degree possession of prohibited weapons or devices (hollow-point bullets).

Neff remains in custody at the hospital as of Wednesday, a State Police spokesperson told Patch. The investigation remains active, and additional charges may be pending.

At around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Neff entered the Turnpike Inn — a dive bar in Carneys Point — according to an affidavit of probable cause. Surveillance footage showed him consuming several alcoholic beverages and at one point urinating outside the bar, says the affidavit written by J.K. Jenkins, a State Police officer.

Neff left the bar at 12:32 a.m. Sunday, driving across the street to get food. He then drove the wrong way on a turnpike ramp, almost hit another vehicle, and continued traveling northbound in the southbound lanes, Jenkins said.

A minute or 2 later, Neff's 2021 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck struck a 2025 Mazda CX5 head-on, authorities said. The Mazda had been traveling in the southbound left lane.

After the initial impact, a tractor-trailer hit the Mazda, police said.

All four people inside the Mazda died, authorities said. Police identified them as Yaakov Kilberg, 19, of Lakewood, who was driving; Aharon Lebovits and Shlomo Cohen, both 18, of Lakewood; and Chaim Grossman, 18, of Fallsburg, New York.

Neff's breath had a "strong odor" of alcohol, Jenkins said. He was treated for his injuries at a hospital in Delaware.

State Police obtained a search warrant for Neff's stored blood from the hospital so they could complete a blood test. The results showed that Neff had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.22 percent, Jenkins said.

New Jersey's legal limit for drivers is 0.08 percent.

Attorney information for Neff wasn't immediately available in online court records.