Prayers For Howell Man, 2 Rutgers Teammates After Fatal Crash

BEAR, DE — It was supposed to be a joyful road trip, the kind of thing college kids do all the time. They'd drive down south to pick up a puppy, then drive home to New Jersey.

Instead the trip has brought heartbreak and unceasing prayers after it ended in a crash that claimed the lives of two of the four friends. A third is in critical condition, fighting for his life in a Delaware hospital.

The fourth young man in the crash, who suffered less serious injuries, is left to pray for his deceased friends and beg his best friend, the one in critical condition, to keep fighting.

"It's been years (that) we’ve been inseparable," Jose Barillas Monzon tweeted from his hospital bed in Delaware along with a photo of Andres Medina, the Howell resident and St. Benedict's Prep graduate who is one of his best friends. "God will guide you through this and I promise to be at the end waiting for you with open arms. Pull through brother, I need you more than ever."

Like Medina, Barillas Monzon survived the crash that killed Adrian Velazquez and Alfahtee Huey on Route 13 in Delaware Sunday morning. The puppy, a black Lab Huey had just bought, also died in the crash.

Barillas Monzon, who has been released from the hospital, told NBC 4 in New York that the four had just gotten back on the road to come home with the puppy when the crash happened.

Velazquez, Medina and Barillas Monzon are teammates on the nationally ranked Rutgers University Newark men's soccer team that won its first New Jersey Athletic Conference championship in November. Huey was a close friend from Medina and Barillas Monzon's years at St. Benedict's Prep, where the trio graduated in 2016. Christian Nunez, a classmate of Medina, Barillas Monzon and Huey, tweeted late Monday evening that Huey had joined the St. Benedict's soccer team as its manager during the group's senior year, and said he was a talented photographer.

Medina, 20, a Howell resident, was ejected from the car. Delaware state police did not have an update on his condition, initially listed as critical, Monday afternoon.

Residents of Kearny and Hillside, respectively, Velazquez and Huey, both 19, died at the scene. The crash happened at about 10:15 Sunday morning when the Toyota Velazquez was driving veered off the road and hit a bump that sent the car airborne and into a tree. Velazquez and Barillas Monzon, 19, of Newark, were wearing seatbelts. Huey was not and was partially ejected from the car.

"Impairment is not considered a factor on (Velazquez's) behalf at this time," police said.

Barillas Monzon tweeted about the deaths of his friends, saying, "It seems so surreal... I love you Tee, I love you Adri... I’ll forever carry you guys in my heart.. i wish I had more time to spend with you.. please watch over us, watch over Andres as he keeps pushing and making strides forward."

He also thanked God for his having survived the crash, adding, "Thank you for impacting my life w such beautiful souls as were Adrian and Alfahtee. I may not understand your will, but I will accept it and rejoice. Amen."

The Rutgers-Newark men's soccer team had a historic fall, winning its first conference championship. Medina had 12 individual shutouts in goal and Velazquez anchored the defensive backs. Barillas Monzon – he is listed as Barillas on the Rutgers roster, but officials at St. Benedict’s said his last name is Monzon – was a substitute who plays midfield and defense.

The group had just received their championship rings at a dinner Feb 24.

"This weekend we suffered an unimaginable loss with the tragic passing of freshman Adrian Velazquez in a car accident," Kevin East, head coach of the Rutgers-Newark men's soccer team, said in a statement released late Monday afternoon. "We are heartbroken as a team and for the Velazquez family. Four wonderful young men were in the car, three of which are members of our program. We send our condolences to the family of Alfahtee Huey, who also lost his life in the crash. Injured in the accident are sophomore GK Andres Medina and Def Jose Barillas. Andres is in critical condition and needs your prayers. Jose has been released from the hospital and is recovering."

"There are no words to express our sorrow, to console our grief for the lives lost or relieve our concerns for those injured," East wrote. "We are drawing strength from each other and aiding the families involved in the accident anyway possible."

East added, "Our program has been overwhelmed by the sincere show of support from within our athletic department, fellow college soccer programs, coaches, the New Jersey soccer community and friends. We thank you."

Medina was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Goalkeeper of the Year and first-team All-NJAC. He allowed just 11 goals against in 24 starts and more than 2,125 minutes, with 86 saves on 218 shots faced. The second-year star totaled 12 shutouts individually and was a part of 15 clean sheets in all, ending his season with a .46 goals-against average and a .887 save percentage. Medina stopped three of five penalty kicks in a shootout win over Bowdoin College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and was a three-time NJAC Defensive Player of the Week honoree.

Medina and Barillas Monzon are students in the Rutgers-Newark Business School, according to a statement from the school's chancellor, Nancy Cantor. Medina also is the first Rutgers-Newark men's soccer player to achieve first-team Academic All-American status, the college said.

Velazquez, the only freshman in the group, was twice named NJAC Rookie of the Week in the fall. His funeral services are set for Thiele-Reid Funeral Home, with visitation Thursday and the funeral Friday morning.

The only one who was not a soccer player, Huey was close friends with Medina and Barillas Monzon from their days at St. Benedict’s. The school’s headmaster, Father Edwin Leahy, posted a message on Facebook about the young man’s death, saying the St. Benedict’s community mourns him and sends its prayers to his family and that of Velazquez. Both, Leahy wrote, were “gone way too soon.” Huey's funeral is set for Friday at Cotton Funeral Home in Newark.

A friend of Huey’s tweeted that he was an amazing piano player; others described him as a really good kid.

Tweets mourning the death of Velazquez and offering support for Medina poured in from a number of New Jersey schools, including Stockton University, Rowan University and Drew University, where Velazquez’s brother, Alexi, plays soccer.

Note: This article was updated with comment from men's soccer coach Kevin East and information about Huey's involvement with the St. Benedict's soccer team.

Photos via Rutgers Newark men's soccer, used with permission