COLTS NECK – Investigators have identified the two men who were killed and the driver who was injured early Wednesday when their commercial vehicle overturned on Route 18.
The victims were identified as Apolinar Guerrero, 39, Piscataway, who was the passenger in the truck and was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:35 a.m.; and Juan Sanchez, a 51-year-old Bound Brook resident, who was also a passenger in the truck, was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:35 a.m. Authorities said Wednesday afternoon the driver at the time of the incident is Nicolas Denis, 23, of Elizabeth. Denis was taken to a local hospital for treatment where he is currently listed in stable condition, according to Charles Webster, a spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Police first received a 911 call at 6:15 a.m. and determined the three men were traveling northbound on Route 18 in a commercial line-striping truck, owned and operated by Straight Edge Striping, a Bound Brook company. According to Webster, the truck overturned onto the median between the interchanges of state Highway 34 and County Road 537 in Colts Neck. The three passengers were thrown from the truck, according to Webster.
The investigation is continuing, being conducted by detectives with the prosecutor’s office, the county Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART) and the township police department, with the assistance of the NJ State Police Commercial Vehicle Inspection Unit.
The Marlboro and Tinton Falls police departments provided additional help with traffic control.
Police reopened the roadway at 3:30 p.m.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact Det. Eric Kerecman with the prosecutor’s office at 1-800-533-7443; or Sgt. Kristian DeVito with the Colts Neck department at 732-780-7323.
