'Always Together': Route 37 Crash Victims Were Planning Futures, Families Say

TOMS RIVER, NJ — It was a Friday night like many others for sisters Kiley and Krista Armstrong and their boyfriends, Evan Fiore and Ryan Chapman.

The two couples spent many weekends together, and last weekend was no different. On Friday, the they drove up to Newark to watch their beloved New Jersey Devils then headed home after watching the team take a tough 6-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

“They had just gotten off the Parkway,” said Tara Chapman, Ryan Chapman’s stepmother, told Patch on Tuesday afternoon.

As the light at Route 166 turned green and they headed north across Route 37, their Toyota Camry was hit by a speeding white BMW that ran the red light on Route 37. In an instant, the lives of both couples and their families were turned upside down.

Evan Fiore, 23, and Kiley Armstrong, 21, died on impact in the crash that happened at 10:58 p.m. Krista Armstrong, Kiley’s twin sister, and Ryan Chapman, 19, were both critically injured and flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.

The driver of the BMW, an unlicensed teen, has been charged with aggravated manslaughter and a host of other counts. Authorities said the teen, who has not been identified, was driving at more than 100 mph during a 15-minute stretch on Friday night during a trip with two passengers that went from Toms River across the Route 37 bridge, north to Lavallette, then south to Seaside Heights before returning to Toms River and ending with the fatal crash.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office is continuing to investigate. The prosecutor’s office said the case had been transferred to them under an order from the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office but declined to comment on the reason. It is common practice for cases to be moved when there is a conflict of interest.

A small memorial of flowers and stuffed animals at the base of a utility pole, replaced after the crash, pays tribute at the site on the northwest corner of Routes 37 and 166. Nearby, orange paint sprayed on the ground marks where the cars came to rest. A piece of guy wire that was snapped remains along with pieces of reflectors. Glass fragments litter the shoulder of Route 37.

The driver made a court appearance on Tuesday, Tara Chapman confirmed.

Because the driver was a juvenile, all court records and documents in the case are sealed from public inspection. The prosecutor’s office declined to comment on what the next steps will be as they work through the case and investigation.

Tara Chapman said family members were in court Tuesday, and afterward they returned to the hospital where Ryan and Krista are continuing to recover physically. Both are awake, she said.

As they try to stay near the recovering couple, the Fiore and Armstrong families are working to plan a joint funeral for Evan and Kiley, who had been dating for about three years and were planning to get engaged later this spring, Tara Chapman said.

Evan, Kiley and Krista all graduated in 2021 from Toms River High School North, a school district official said. Ryan, a 2023 graduate of Brick Township High School, met Krista when the two worked at Dunkin Donuts and had been dating for between one and two years, Tara Chapman said, and Ryan and the sisters all had birthdays in April, so they celebrated those together.

“Ryan and Evan were best friends,” she said, and Ryan sometimes commented that he felt like he was dating both sisters because the couples were so tight-knit.

“They were really, really close,” Tara Chapman said. “They were always together.”

The closeness endured in spite of the fact that the sisters were attending different colleges. Krista is a student at Temple University, majoring in math and planning to become an actuary when she graduates after the Fall 2025 semester, Tara Chapman said. Kiley, meanwhile, was finishing up her bachelor’s in exercise science at Rowan University and expected to graduate in May, she said.

While the sisters were away at school, Evan was working as a welder for R&S Contracting and studying at Ocean County College, according to his LinkedIn profile. He had been working on a degree in business administration but was planning to switch to studying science and management to become a park ranger. "I will also be attending a police academy to help me get a job as a ranger," he wrote on his profile.

Ryan had just recently started studying to become an electrician, Tara Chapman said.

Ryan would drive out to Temple every weekend to see Krista, who serves as a resident assistant in one of the dorms. On weekends when she was on duty, he would stay with Krista, Tara Chapman said, but on weekends when she was not on duty, Ryan and Krista would head to Rowan to pick up Kiley, then connect with Evan.

From there, it was back to the Armstrong home, where they would hang out and play games.

“The night before (the crash) they were playing Dance Revolution and they were mad because Ryan kept winning,” Tara Chapman said.

“They’re just genuinely all good kids,” she said.

Ryan and Krista are near each other at Jersey Shore, in different parts of the intensive care unit but on the same floor, Tara Chapman said.

“They’ve been wheeling him past her room,” on his way to X-rays and other treatments, Tara Chapman said, and as he waves hi, Krista is giving him orders, she said.

“Krista keeps him in line,” Tara Chapman said, adding that Ryan said, “I’m so glad she’s yelling at me again.”

While Ryan has been worrying about Krista and about his family — “His dad told him, ‘You worry about you and getting better and then when you’re better you can help me,” Tara Chapman said — others have been worrying about Ryan.

“All his friends from high school have been showing up for him,” Tara Chapman said.

The outpouring of support hasn’t been limited to hospital visits. The GoFundMe campaign, set up by Ryan’s stepbrother, Cole Crozier, and Evan’s best friend, Brady Bryson, to pay for a joint funeral for Evan and Kiley and the medical bills for Ryan and Krista had raised nearly $150,000 as of 5 p.m. Tuesday.

A separate effort by the Toms River North Marching Mariners booster club was raising money for Door Dash gift cards for the Armstrong family, as Krista was a member of the marching band and her father served as its treasurer.

The Devil Fanatics Instagram account posted a tribute to Kiley and Evan, encouraging contributions to the GoFundMe, saying: "Rest in peace to Kiley Armstrong and Evan Fiore who were involved in a fatal car accident Friday night. Kiley and Evan were both diehard Devils fans. We lost two innocent lives in our Devils fan community which should’ve never happened. Can’t stress it enough, please drive responsibly. You are not only putting yourself at risk, but so many others."

"The Armstrong, Fiore, and Chapman families would like to send our sincerest appreciation and thank for all the love and support to everyone near and far who are behind us during this devastating situation.” an update on the GoFundMe said. “We have a long road ahead of us, but all of the love and support is giving us the strength to continue.”

Read more:

• Support Pours In For Families Of Victims In Fatal Route 37 Crash In Toms River
• 2 Die In Route 37 Crash In Toms River As Unlicensed Teen Drove 118 MPH: Prosecutor