U-turn on lanes of Parkway: 911 calls before fatal head-on crash

The driver who caused a deadly head-on crash on the Parkway in Ocean County on New Year’s Day was described by 911 callers as making a U-turn in the middle of the highway and speeding erratically moments before a head-on collision that killed two women.

At least four 911 calls were received within moments after the vehicle first entered Parkway traffic at exit 80, based on audio obtained from State Police by New Jersey 101.5.

Among those callers, one woman reports a champagne-colored Honda had entered the Parkway around Dover Oil in Toms River and was driving erratically — “like, almost just hit us.”

That caller's husband also was in the vehicle and describes that the car “literally just banged a U-ey — right in the middle of the Parkway and then just gunned it and went southbound on the northbound side and flew past us.”

“I don’t know what the hell he was doing,” the 911 caller added to a dispatcher.

Another woman, driving north, reported passing the same wrong-way driver, also around exit 80.

A third driver reported the wrong-way vehicle around the same time, while a fourth caller saw the vehicle around mile marker 79.4.

The deadly crash was reported at mile post 68.1 in Barnegat around 7:45 a.m., State Police previously said.

State Police have not publicly said whether they know why the driver turned around on the Parkway. Toxicology reports remain pending and there was no update on the investigation as of Tuesday.

Emily Soc, of Ewing, had been driving south in the northbound lanes before 8 a.m. on Jan. 1 when she crashed head-on with the vehicle being driven by Colleen Roche, of Barnegat, according to State Police.

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Roche, who was 61, was survived by her husband, daughters and grandchildren. She had worked for St. Barnabas Hospital, as a medical record technician, according to an obituary.

Soc, who was 25, was survived by her husband and two young sons. She had worked as a private nurse and a supervisor for the Amazon location in Robbinsville, according to her obituary.

Separate GoFundMe campaigns have collected thousands of dollars for both grieving families.

State Police said following the New Year's Day crash that Soc was driving a Toyota against traffic when she crashed into a Honda CRV driven by Roche.

A request to clarify the first 911 call, which reported a Honda as the wrong-way vehicle, was still being checked on by State Police as of Tuesday evening.

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