Drunk Driver Faces 15 Charges After Deadly Wrong-Way Crash Kills Four Teens in New Jersey
Four adolescents lost their lives in a terrible wrong-way collision on a major New Jersey highway, and the driver involved is now facing a 15-count indictment, according to court documents.
Christopher Neff, a 41-year-old Westminster, Colorado resident, has been formally charged with several major offenses. These include death by car and aggravated manslaughter in relation to the deadly collision on the New Jersey Turnpike last year.
Three 18-year-old passengers—Aharon Lebovits, Shlomo Cohen, and Chaim Grossman—as well as the vehicle’s driver, 19-year-old Yaakov Kilberg, were recognized as victims of the tragic event. All four of the adolescents died at the scene of the incident, according to the authorities.
Investigators claim that Neff was driving in the wrong direction on the highway when the collision happened. Neff had been drinking at a tavern close to the Delaware Memorial Bridge on October 19, 2025, according to the prosecution. According to reports, he stayed there for about two hours before departing and making a quick stop at a nearby gas station.
Neff is charged shortly later with entering the New Jersey Turnpike’s southbound lanes while heading north. Kilberg’s SUV and his pickup truck crashed within minutes. The SUV was killed as a result of the impact forcing it into a tractor-trailer.
Neff’s blood alcohol content at the time of the collision was detected at 0.22%, which is almost three times higher than the legal limit, according to law enforcement officials. The case against him now heavily relies on this degree of intoxication.
Neff is facing other counts pertaining to weapons in addition to those directly related to the crash. Authorities said they found a number of weapons in his car, including hollow-point ammo and an AR-style rifle with a suppressor.
A judge in January ordered Neff to stay in detention after a court hearing. Prosecutors submitted evidence about his suspected intoxication and pre-accident behavior, and the decision was made about three months after the disaster.
A 29-year-old male from Nova Scotia, Canada, was the driver of the tractor-trailer involved in the collision; he was unharmed.
Grossman was identified as a native of Fallsburg, New York, while the other three youths were from Lakewood, New Jersey. The victims were from various places. Their families and communities have been profoundly affected by their deaths.
Neff is anticipated to publicly address the charges listed in the indictment when he appears in court for arraignment in early April.
The serious repercussions of drunk driving and wrong-way accidents on roads, which frequently result in high-speed, head-on collisions with catastrophic results, are still brought to light by this case.
Sources
Court Records
State Prosecutors’ Case Details
Law Enforcement Investigation Reports
