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Community Rocked By Death Of Jackson Siblings
By Keith Hagarty
 | | - -Photo By Keith Hagarty Jackson Memorial High School students grieve at the makeshift memorial constructed at the site of the car accident on Freehold Road in Jackson that killed Andrew Miller, 17, and his stepsister, Shatone Glover, 16. |
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Tragedy struck the area last week after an early morning fatal car accident in Jackson took the lives of Andrew Miller, 17, and 16-year old stepsister, Shatone Glover.
The one-vehicle accident occurred March 7 at approximately 7 a.m. on Freehold Road, approximately half a mile from Cedar Swamp Road (Route 527). Miller, a member of the varsity football team, was driving a 1996 Nissan Maxima, with Glover in the passenger seat, before he lost control of the vehicle on the slippery road and hit a tree.
Both students of Jackson Memorial High School (JMHS), the siblings were enroute to the school, where Glover was preparing to take the standardized High School Proficiency Assessment test that morning. As the teens presumably drove to pick up a friend first, the police believe weather conditions and the inexperience of the driver most likely led to the crash.
"It appears that the driver was going too fast for the road conditions," Jackson Police Sgt. Russell Scialpi said at a press conference held Wednesday afternoon.
"The road was covered with a light covering of snow," said Scialpi. "The vehicle skidded off the road and impacted a tree in the area of the driver."
Miller may have been driving in excess of the 50-miles per hour posted speed limit on Freehold Road before he lost control of the vehicle trying to navigating a curve, according to Scialpi.
"The driver did not appear to be wearing a seatbelt, and it's yet to be determined whether the passenger was wearing a seatbelt," he said. "However with the severity of the crash, it probably would not have mattered … the damage was severe."
The police believe both victims died on impact, with the mangled wreckage of the car being towed away in two separate pieces.
Jackson Police Officer Kevin Chesney was the first to respond to the scene of the accident, with lead investigator Officer Trevor Crowley.
"It's every officer's worst nightmare," said Chesney. "It's very difficult. We try to do the best we can and show the support that we can."
In the last three years, Freehold Road has had four traffic fatalities.
The accident devastated the near 2,500 students of Jackson Memorial High School, who received the news at about 10 a.m., according to school officials.
"We are obviously saddened by the loss of two of our students," said Jackson Superintendent of Schools Thomas Gialanella. "There is no greater sadness for a parent, and the entire school community feels the loss as well."
To respond to students' needs, a 25-member crisis response team has been set up by the district comprised of psychologists, social workers and counselors, including three members brought in from the department of Ocean County Human Resources.
"Our first priority today was to take care of our students and staff and make sure we were giving them the help and services they need," said Gialanella.
Both of the teens were popular and well liked throughout the school and will be sorely missed, said JMHS Principal Anthony J. Gaita, who called them "the bright eyes of the school."
"Today obviously is a very difficult day," said Gaita. "The students were visibly shaken, some were silent and in dismay and others were leaning on their classmates for support and for help. The mood in the school was certainly somber. It was quiet. It was sad."
Approximately 250 mourners gathered at the scene of the accident Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil with photos of the siblings and notes of love providing a memorial.
Any parent or student who would like more information or assistance from a member of the district's crisis team is encouraged to call the guidance office at Jackson Memorial High School at 732-833-4626.
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