Chopper Crashed After Filming Christmas Lights: 5 Must-Read NJ Stories

Good evening, New Jersey Patch readers! We've assembled some of the most share-worthy stories from the state for today, just for you.

Here are the top five stories from New Jersey:

1. New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito has made a change in his marketing representation, after a mix-up over his appearance fee with the owner of a North Jersey pizzeria. DeVito wound up stopping by the pizza shop for free Tuesday, along with doing autograph signings at two other local businesses. (Read more on Patch.)

2. NJ Transit has released the identity of the 50-year-old man who was hit by a Gladstone Branch train near the Basking Ridge station on Monday. He is the third person from Somerset County to be struck and killed by a train in the past week. (Read more on Patch.)

3. A surfer had a "wipeout from hell" while riding the massive waves churned up by storms off the Jersey Shore earlier this week. Witnesses caught his fall, and the 22-foot wave crashing down, on video. (Read more on Patch.)

4. As families gather for the winter holidays, there is a new COVID-19 sub variant that is responsible for an increasing share of coronavirus hospitalizations in New Jersey and the surrounding region. (Read more on Patch.)

5. Questions still remain about what caused a Philadelphia news station helicopter to crash on its way back from the Jersey Shore, killing the two men on board. Pilot Monroe Smith and photographer Christopher Dougherty were on assignment to get footage of Christmas lights, and circled Galloway before going down in Wharton State Forest. (Read more on Patch.)