[ back ]
WEST MILFORD - Man killed in alleged teenage drunk driver crash
(by Rebecca Scanlon - News Editor - September 10, 2008)
WEST MILFORD - The community mourns the death of the father of two young children who was killed in a motor vehicle accident early Friday morning.
Family and friends remembered 26-year-old township resident Jay DeRaffele as someone who would go to great lengths to help anyone who needed his assistance.
"He always went above and beyond to help anyone…on more than one occasion," said his sister Jenny Sibley.
"He was a great guy. He'd do anything for you," said long-time friend Jason Dockray, who also worked with DeRaffele at the garage he owned for at least three years, DeRaffele Automotive on Marshall Hill Road.
Not only did DeRaffele make his living fixing cars, but he also made them his hobby, racing and toying with automobiles in his down time.
"He was really into his cars," Sibley said.
DeRaffele graduated from West Milford High School in 2000 and from Pace University, which he attended on a football scholarship, in 2004.
Marshall Hill School Principal Mike McCormick, who was the principal of West Milford High School (WMHS) when DeRaffele was a student there, recalled DeRaffele was a student-athlete, shining on both the football and baseball fields.
"I remember him being a great kid," McCormick said.
DeRaffele leaves behind two sons, Jayden, 1 year, and Brandon, 1 month. He is also survived by his parents, Jim and Joan; two sisters, Julie Navarro and Jenny Sibley; and his brother Jimmy. All of his immediate family lived in West Milford.
DeRaffele also leaves behind his fiancée Jennifer Brady and two stepchildren, Caleigh Myers and Justin DeRaffele; his paternal grandmother Anne DeRaffele of Pennsylvania; and several nieces and nephews.
Visiting hours are scheduled for today, 4-8 p.m., at the Richards Funeral Home, 1440 Union Valley Road, West Milford.
Funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at the West Milford Presbyterian Church, 1452 Union Valley Road, West Milford. Friends are asked to meet at the church. Interment will follow at Valleau Cemetery, Ridgewood.
Police suspect that the driver of the Volkswagen in which DeRaffele was riding had consumed too much alcohol when the vehicle ran off East Shore Road and struck a rock wall on side of the road around 1:45 a.m. on Sept. 5.
As a result of this accident, township woman Avery Meyer, 18, has been charged with driving under the influence and death by auto, as well as several other motor vehicle offenses, Lt. Timothy Storbeck said.
If found guilty, the penalty for the offense is five to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine up to $150,000. As of press time Friday, bail had not been set and Meyer was being held at the police station.
Lt. Storbeck said that he had no information on how Meyer and DeRaffele knew each other or how Meyer might have obtained alcohol.
Early Friday morning, police received several 911 calls reporting a loud impact in the area of 760 East Shore Road. Officer Casey Casbarro was the first to arrive at the scene.
Investigators determined that Meyer was driving a 1998 black Volkswagen south on East Shore Road when it crossed over the centerline, went off the road and struck a rock embankment and rock wall before coming to rest on the northbound lane and shoulder. DeRaffele was pronounced dead at the scene, Lt. Storbeck said.
The township police Crash Investigation Unit and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office continue to investigate the tragedy.
Friday's accident is the second in a little more than a week that claimed the life of a young person cherished by the township. On Aug. 28, Megan Buske, a 21-year-old WMHS graduate, was killed when her GMC Canyon hit the back of a tanker trailer on the right shoulder of Interstate 287 in Mahwah.
[ back ]
