BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
OLD BRIDGE — The investigation into the fatal two-vehicle crash on Route 9 last week that claimed the lives of three people and seriously injured two may take a few months.
Old Bridge Police Captain Steven Daroci said that due to the amount of evidence collected, the investigation into the cause of the crash on March 15 continues.
William M. Fairchild, 45, of Howell, was driving a blue Ford Escape south on Route 9 near Route 516 around noon, when for unknown reasons, his vehicle crossed over the center median and into the northbound lane, hitting a gold Honda Accord head-on, according to police.
The impact killed Fairchild along with the driver of the Honda, 37-year-old Hope T. Wells, of Freehold, and the back seat passenger of the Honda, 62-year-old Charles H. Kleiman, of San Rafael, California.
Two other passengers in the Honda, Kleiman’s wife and mother, were injured in the crash and transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Daroci said as of March 18, the two women were still hospitalized.
Both directions of Route 9 were closed for roughly four hours as police investigated and cleared up the crash site. The roadway reopened shortly before 5 p.m.
