Investigation continues into fatal hit-and-run
Freehold Twp. native dies from injuries sustained in accident
BY MARK ROSMAN
Staff Writer

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - Police are continuing their investigation into an accident that claimed the life of a township woman on June 3. In an update that was announced June 11, Freehold Township police reported that the New Jersey State Police have entered the investigation.

Theresa S. Kling, 39, who was born in Freehold and graduated from Freehold Township High School, died at 11:15 p.m. June 3 after being injured in an accident at 1:11 a.m. that day.

Freehold Township police Capt. James Lasky said Officer Earl Cain and Detective Russell Gelber of the Freehold Township Police Department, along with representatives of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the state police are looking into the circumstances surrounding the accident that occurred at the intersection of Route 537 and Siloam Road (Route 527).

The intersection is where Freehold Township, Millstone Township and Manalapan share a border.

Lasky said the investigating officers would especially like to speak with the driver of a dark green or blue four-door Honda who was sitting at the traffic light on Siloam Road when the accident occurred. Anyone with information about the accident is asked to call Gelber at (732) 294-2110, ext. 3103.

According to Lasky, Kling was operating a 1994 Honda motorcycle heading east on Route 537 as she approached the intersection. At that moment a dark-colored cargo van or pickup truck that was heading west on Route 537 turned left onto Siloam Road in front of Kling.

Kling lost control of her motorcycle and fell to the pavement in the eastbound lane of Route 537, at which time the truck ran over her and continued down Siloam Road, according to Lasky, who said the driver of the truck would have most likely realized he or she had struck a person.

Kling was being followed by her fiance, Michael Crowell, on a second motorcycle. Crowell stopped, called 911 and rendered assistance to Kling. The Freehold First Aid and Emergency Squad responded to the scene and transported Kling to the trauma center at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, according to Lasky.

The captain said Kling died of her injuries about 22 hours after the accident.

Lasky said details about the accident, such as the speed at which the vehicles were traveling, remain under investigation.

Following her graduation from Freehold Township High School, Kling earned a four-year degree in hotel and restaurant management from East Stroudsburg University. Upon graduation, she interned at the Marriott Hotel and Golf Resort on Marco Island, Fla., where she then began a 10-year career. She resided in Florida from 1990-99.

Kling returned to New Jersey in 1999 to begin a teaching career. She earned her professional certification from Kean University and began working at the Kennedy Park Elementary School, Woodbridge, in September 2002. She had been a third grade teacher for the past four years. Kling was a member of the New Jersey Education Association and served as her school's union representative.

This year she was among honorees by the New Jersey Department of Education, having been awarded a certificate of recognition through the 2007 Governor's Teacher Recognition Program.

Kling was a communicant of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, Freehold, and a teacher in the parish's CCD program.

She is survived by a son and daughter, Zachary and Brittany Kling; her parents, Edward and Carole Rogerwick of Freehold; four sisters, Christina LaPatin of Pittsfield, Mass., Pamela Reynaud of Millville, Michelle Kimker and her husband Erich, of Rockaway, and Stephanie Rogerwick, of Philadelphia; eight nieces and nephews; and her fiance Michael Crowell of Freehold, and Crowell's sons, Evan and Sean.

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of the Higgins Memorial Home, Freehold. A funeral liturgy was held at St. Rose of Lima, with burial at the St. Rose of Lima Cemetery, Freehold Township. A fund for the children has been established and donations (in lieu of flowers) may be made to the Theresa Kling Trust Fund in care of Idus American Bank, 1536 Oak Tree Road, Iselin 08830.