Resident Recalls Aftermath of Double Fatal Accident in Aberdeen

Locals know how to navigate the tricky curves and dip in the road along Church Street, between the Aberdeen Township Municipal Building and Broad Street, Matawan.

But for a young South African woman navigating the road in the rain at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, with two young children in the car, the road's twists proved deadly.

Jannine Hayes, 23, of Johannesburg was killed, along with a 6-month old Holmdel boy she cared for, when her sedan collided with a 2007 Jeep Commander driven by Frank Giammarino, 30, of Aberdeen.

Hayes died as a result of head, chest and abdominal trauma, and the infant Gabriel Bauder died of head trauma. His two-year old brother William Bauder III is in critical condition at the hospital, according to the county prosecutor's office. 

Giammarino and his 3-year-old twin sons, Frank and Stephen, were unhurt in the crash.

First Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni would not say how investigators believe the fatal accident occurred. "All I can say at this time is that the investigation is continuing," he said. 

The accident left residents in the area shaken. Louise Musilli, 42, who lives on a hill above Church Street, recalled hearing a dreadful screech Tuesday morning. Then she heard the crash. "It was a dull, hard, heavy thud," she said in an interview Thursday.

As she raced out of her house with her cellphone and saw the debris and carnage on the street, she said she quickly called the township police at the police station up the road to report the accident.

She could see the blonde hair of the driver slumped forward and to the side, and she could see the infant in the car seat, which had become undone from its base. "I could smell a little bit of gasoline," she said, and worried if she should act. "Should I take the baby out, because is this going to blow up?" she recalled thinking.

Members of the Aberdeen Police Department arrived immediately and rushed the 6-month old and boy to the hospital by police car, said Musilli.

Although the Prosecutor's Office said there were only two cars involved in the accident investigation, Musilli said there were three cars at the accident scene, and she spoke with the drivers. She said she believes the victims' car was hit twice in two different locations. "There were three cars involved, for sure. It was a little black car, and it didn't seem to have much damage."

The scene was so disturbing, "I was so shaken up," she said. She took her three small children with her to St. Benedict Church to pray for the victims.

The stretch of Church Street has been a constant source of worry for Musilli, who has a folder full of correspondence, maps and letters dating back to 2003, when it was modified -- but not improved, in her view.

"The road is a tight bend, then it comes up suddenly and it goes downhill," she said. A sign posted before the bend cautions to take the swerve and dip in the road at 20 mph, but few do, she said.

"I don't know why we don't put flashing lights here and let people know, 'Hey! This is a really bad bend!'"

Her neighbor, Frank Cruz, 36, said he is in favor of speed-reducing bumps. "It gets a little hairy pulling out of here," he said.

Regina Uveges, 52, of Bailey Road said that cars come along so fast on curve and dip of the road, they don't know what's ahead of them and they can shift in their lanes. "I almost got hit, as a pedestrian," she said. "If I hadn't looked up and jumped into a ravine..."

She added that her own dog got loose on the road but was killed in front of her husband's eyes by a motorist driving so fast around the bend he could not see the animal in time.

Aberdeen Chief of Police John Powers said he discussed the road with Township Manager Holly Reycraft after the accident occurred. They plan to collect data and reevaluate the safety of Church Street.

"It's kind of premature to make any hard judgements until we look at the data," Powers said. "I know the conditions have improved since the last construction that took place there. I remember years ago -- any time it rained -- we could count on there being a crash there."

Editors' Note: Previous reports on this accident incorrectly put the time of the crash at a later hour. The time given in those reports applied to updates broadcast on police and emergency radio channels rather than hour the accident occurred.