West Orange Woman Dies in Northfield Avenue Crash

[Editor's note: This article was last updated Sept. 20 at 11:40 p.m.]

A two-car collision on Northfield Avenue in West Orange left one person dead Tuesday afternoon, officials with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said.

Marouso Chiovaro, 36, of West Orange was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 1:29 p.m., according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray.

Shortly before 1 p.m.,  a blue Toyota Camry traveling east bound on Northfield Avenue in the area of Highwood Road crossed over into the west bound lanes of traffic and was struck by a red Honda Pilot, said Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman with the prosecutor's office.

She said Chiovaro was the driver of the Camry. The driver of the Honda was transported to University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The crash caused major traffic delays in the area, with Northfield Avenue closed off in both directions between Gregory and Prospect Avenues hours after the incident.

West Orange officials and members of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office dotted the scene Tuesday on Northfield Avenue.

The red sports utility vehicle was propped up on a tow truck with visible damage to the front. On the other side of Northfield Avenue, a blue sedan was severely crushed.

The school district sent out a call to all district parents around 2 p.m. informing them an accident near Gregory could cause delays in the afternoon bus schedule. Gregory Principal Michele Thompson said she would keep students in the cafeteria once school let out if the buses were not there to pick up the kids.

A resident who lives in the area said she heard the crash from her home off Northfield Avenue. "I heard one car hitting another car," she said. The resident, who did not give her name, said she hears crashes all the time from her home and while this incident "didn't sound worse than normal," she was concerned when she saw six police cars whiz by her.

The woman said accidents happen all the time on the street especially in the winter and when it rains. "The roads get wet and people don't realize how slippery it gets," she said. "They fly down and they can't stop."

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced Tuesday night that the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit and the West Orange Police are investigating the fatal motor vehicle crash.