Man Sentenced In Road Rage Crash That Killed Brick Newlywed

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Lakewood man has been sentenced to 364 days in jail and 3 years of probation in a road rage crash that killed a Brick Township newlywed in 2021.

Avrohom Pam, 21, was sentenced Wednesday to the jail term as a condition of the probation by Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer for Pam's guilty pleas to reckless vehicular homicide and assault by auto in the crash that killed Sean Avon, 26, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Pam was driving a 2021 Ford van in the right lane on Lanes Mills Road in Lakewood shortly after 5 p.m. on June 11, 2021, when he hit a 2019 Honda CRV driven by John Arendt Jr. of Brick from behind. The force of the hit sent Arendt’s Honda into the northbound lane of Lanes Mill Road, where he hit Avon's 2012 Ford Mustang head-on, the prosecutor said.

Avon was taken to Ocean Medical Center in Brick, where he succumbed to his injuries, Billhimer said.

The investigation found an argument between Pam and Arendt led to the crash.

Arendt, 76, was hospitalized after the crash and later released. He was not charged in the crash.

Avon had been married just three weeks before the crash, and he and his bride were planning to celebrate their wedding with family and friends later in the year, his family said at the time. He had started working as a mechanic at Auto Lenders not long before the crash and loved cars.

The 2012 Ford Mustang he was driving was his prized possession, his family said. Read more: Brick Man Killed In Road Rage Crash Had Big Dreams, Family Says

Pam, who stayed at the scene of the crash, was arrested June 12, 2021, and charged with vehicular homicide, and later released as a consequence of bail reform, the prosecutor's office said. Pam pleaded guilty June 19, 2023, to reckless vehicular homicide and assault by auto, the prosecutor's office said.

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Robert Cassidy handled the case on behalf of the state. The prosecutor’s office Major Crime Unit – Vehicular Homicide Squad, Lakewood Township Police Department and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit investigated.