NJ Couple Driving To Their Wedding Died; Cell Phone User Blamed

The driver of the tractor-trailer who was distracted by a cellphone conversation was responsible for the horrific Pennsylvania crash that killed a New Jersey man and woman, both of whom were driving to their wedding, police announced on Wednesday.

Jaspreet S. Chahal, 24, of Fresno, Calif. was charged with vehicular homicide in the November death of Fanwood native Kathryn M. Schurtz, 35, and her fiancé, Joseph D. Kearney, 42, police told Patch. Both died in the automobile accident while on their way to their wedding in Pittsburgh.

Chahal has agreed to turn himself in on May 16, police told Patch.

Police said the crash happened in an active work zone and that the right lane of travel was blocked off with traffic cones. There were also "road work ahead" signs posted that the suspect allegedly drove past and ignored, police said.

The suspect also passed a fully marked Pennstlvania State Police vehicle that had activated its lights, police said.

Chahal was ultimately found sitting next to a concrete median and was placed in the back of a patrol vehicle while he awaited medical assistance. Police later learned that the suspect's sister acknowledged that she was likely on the phone with Chahal when the accident occurred.

The accident happened at 2:38 p.m. on I-78 in Berks County on Nov. 14, 2018, according to police, when a tractor trailer was traveling westbound and was unable to stop for the traffic ahead.

That tractor trailer first struck a passenger vehicle, which was then pushed into the rear of another tractor trailer. The chain reaction crash consisted of five tractor trailers and one passenger vehicle, according to the Pennsylvania State Police.

There was heavy fire involving two tractor trailers and the passenger vehicle. There were three injuries and two fatalities, including Kearney and Schurtz, police said. The highway was completely shut down for more than four hours.

Born in Elizabeth, Kathryn Schurtz grew up in Fanwood and graduated from Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains in 2001, according to an obituary posted on Fanwood's Facebook page.

Schurtz attended George Washington University, where she received her liberal arts degree and went on to earn her MBA from Notre Dame, according to the obituary.

Schurtz was employed as the head of platform partnerships for Oracle Data Cloud in New York City and was currently residing in Jersey City, the obituary said.

"She will be remembered for her voracious appetite for reading, love of cooking, and trailblazing new adventures with Joseph, according to the obituary.

Surviving were her parents, Joseph and Karen; her sister, Kimberly; her sister and brother-in-law Joanne and Kevin Schwoer; and her nephew Landon Schwoer, 3 months old.