Three-Year Old Girl Dies In Multi-Vehicle Howell Crash

HOWELL, NJ — A three-year-old girl died in a multi-vehicle collision Saturday afternoon at Routes 33 and 34 in Howell, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced.

The accident is under active investigation, Santiago said Sunday. No criminal charges have been filed nor traffic summons issued as yet in the incident.

The prosecutor's office explained the details of the accident:

Shortly before 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13, members of the Howell Township Police Department responded to New Jersey State Route 34, just north of the interchange with State Route 33 on a report of a collision.

There they found the three involved vehicles: a 2014 Dodge Ram pickup truck with an adult female driver, a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee with an adult female driver and three passengers, including two children, and a 2021 Ford Bronco with an adult female driver, the prosecutor's office said.

The driver of the Jeep Cherokee sustained a serious injury and was transported to a local hospital for treatment, the prosecutor's office said. One of the two child passengers in the Cherokee, a 3-year-old girl, was pronounced deceased at the scene, while the other, a 2-year-old boy, sustained minor injuries and was hospitalized for observation.

The drivers of the pickup truck and the Ford Bronco sustained minor injuries, authorities said.

Route 34 remained closed in both directions while an investigation by members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART), and the Howell Township Police Department continued. The highway reopened at approximately 10:15 p.m. on Saturday, the prosecutor's office said.

Anyone with information about this matter is being asked to contact MCPO Agent Reginald Grant at 800-533-7443 or Howell Township Police Officer Daniel Scherbinski at 732-938-4575, ext. 2663.