Community Corner
‘A Joyful Spirit’: Victim Of Route 79 Crash Remembered By Family & Friends
The crash occurred late on Saturday when a vehicle struck a telephone pole on Route 79 in Marlboro, police said.
MARLBORO, NJ — The victim of a fatal crash on Route 79 is being remembered by friends and family as someone with “a joyful spirit and a kind heart.”
Juan Rico, 21, of Marlboro, was identified by police as the victim of the crash that occurred late Saturday night, Marlboro Police Captain Stephen Levy told Patch.
According to Levy, police began receiving calls about a vehicle that struck a telephone pole on Route 79 around 10:45 p.m. on Saturday. The crash led to the pole and utility wires blocking the roadway.
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Once officers arrived at the scene, they found Juan inside the vehicle and extricated him with help from the fire department. According to police, he was the driver and only person inside the vehicle.
Following the crash, Levy said Juan was brought to CentraState Hospital in Freehold, where he later died.
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“He had a joyful spirit and a kind heart,” his obituary reads. “He loved spending time playing video games and vacationing in Provincetown, MA. He was excitedly planning his dream trip to Greece.”
A graduate of Marlboro High School and a recent graduate of Lincoln Technical School, friends and family are remembering Juan as someone who shared a special bond with his younger brother and was always eager to help him with his schoolwork and cheer him on.
Deeply loved by his family and friends, they described Juan as someone who will be remembered for his “warmth, humor, generosity and kindness, inspiring countless lives with his gentle giant spirit and infectious smile.”
“He will be missed beyond measure by all who knew and loved him,” his obituary reads.
Juan is survived by his mothers, Lillian Ortiz and Cindi Geller, his birth mother, Lina Arcila, and his two brothers, Julian and Jeronimo.
In lieu of flowers, the obituary said memorial donations can be made in Juan's memory to Marlboro Emergency Medical Services here. Juan's obituary can be found here.
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