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Numb. Shocked. Disbelief. Incredible tragedy. Unimaginable sadness. You can use those words and hundreds more and still not be able to fully describe the awful events that unfolded on Kozloski Road in Freehold Township on the afternoon of Jan. 10.

In the blink of an eye the lives of four people came to an end in a two-vehicle crash that has stunned the Freehold community. Three students from Freehold High School and a grandmother from Old Bridge were killed on impact when their vehicles collided in the middle of an undivided four-lane road.

Since that terrible afternoon, students and staff members at the high school have had to come to grips with the loss of Michael Dragonetti, 17, Andrew Lundy, 16, and James Warnock, 17, and the family of Ruth MacArthur, 68, has had to deal with the loss of a beloved wife, mother and grandmother. By all accounts these four people were very special individuals, full of past accomplishments and hopes for the future. Their lives ended way before they should have.

And despite all of the training and experience they have had, the emergency services personnel, police and firefighters who responded to the scene of the deadly crash will likely keep the memory of that day with them for the rest of their lives.

There is no exact answer yet as to why the crash occurred.

Officials believe the vehicle being driven by Dragonetti left its lane of travel and crashed into the vehicle that was being driven in the opposite direction by MacArthur. The Monmouth County prosecutor has said that the speed at which Dragonetti's vehicle was traveling may have been a factor in the accident.

There has been much comment since that day about the driving experience, or lack thereof, of teenage drivers in New Jersey. We certainly know from the higher premiums that are charged to teenagers that insurance companies consider newly licensed drivers to be more of a risk than older drivers who have significantly more experience behind the wheel.

In order to obtain a license, a teenager needs a minimum of six hours of behind-the-wheel training. It is up to a teenager's parents to provide additional time on the road during the year when their child has a learner's permit to give him or her more time and instruction behind the wheel.

We would suggest that just as police trainees are given behind-the-wheel defensive driving training, so, too, should new drivers be afforded the opportunity to learn what to do in situations they may face on the road. While the cost of such a course might deter some people from taking it, we would suggest that the cost of life and property is much higher.