Suit Blames Volkswagen In Fiery Turnpike Crash That Killed Brick Man, Friend

BRICK, NJ — The family of a Brick Township man who was killed in a fiery crash on the New Jersey Turnpike last November has filed suit, claiming defects in the Volkswagen Passat in which he was a passenger contributed to his death.

The lawsuit, filed Sept. 9 in Middlesex County Superior Court by the family of Christopher Calderone alleges there were known defects in the 2004 Passat that contributed to the fire after the crash, according to a copy of the suit forwarded to the Patch.

Calderone, 20, and Rob Critelli, 21, of Summit who graduated from Point Pleasant Beach High School, were sitting in the back seat of the Passat driven by their friend, Paul Fiorentino, 21, of Point Pleasant Beach, when it was rear-ended by a Toyota Avalon driven by Nishank Shaw, 24, of Woodbridge, New Jersey State Police said at the time.

Read more: A Guitar, A Contagious Laugh, Silenced: Turnpike Crash Victims Remembered

The Passat had stopped behind a Toyota Sienna driven by Igor Lougovtsov, 46, of Yarmouth, Maine, who had stopped in the left lane of the Turnpike in Gloucester Township because the lane was closed, police said. The impact of the crash drove the Passat into the back of the Sienna and into a concrete barrier, and caused the Passat to burst into flames, police said.

Both Calderone and Critelli were killed in the crash. Fiorentino was injured but survived the crash.

Shaw, the driver of the Avalon, received a summons charging him with careless driving, but the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office declined to file criminal charges.

Erroll J. Haythorn, the attorney for Brenda and Lewis Calderone and their son, David, said those charges are still being pursued at the municipal level in Woolwich Township, where the crash occurred, with a trial scheduled for Nov. 22.

The lawsuit also names Shaw and names Fiorentino and his parents, as the car was registered to Fiorentino's mother, according to the suit.

The 2004 Volkswagen Passat has had four national safety recalls, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. One of those recalls was for a flaw in the heat shield that led to engine fires. More than 400,000 Passats with model years 1999 to 2005 were recalled for repairs due to that issue, according to the NHTSA.

A call to Volkswagen's corporate spokesperson seeking comment was not immediately returned.

The suit seeks unspecified damages covering the costs of Calderone's medical treatment and funeral as well as punitive damages.

Photo of Chris Calderone (left) and Rob Critelli courtesy of Eva Motto