Division of Criminal Justice and State Police
Investigate Motorist Death on Turnpike

TRENTON – The Attorney General’s Office, through the Division of Criminal Justice and the State Police Major Crimes Unit, is conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a motorist following a car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike in Woodbridge shortly after 9 p.m. on Thursday.

The man who died has been identified as Mark A. Keseleski, 46, of 8 Woerner Court, Edison.

According to a preliminary investigation, Troopers Thomas Murtha and Steven Levash responded about 9:15 p.m. to a report of a single-car crash on the northbound outer roadway of the Turnpike. They found a 1999 Saturn SL2 on fire in a swampy area on the berm of the roadway. The troopers encountered the driver near the burning vehicle, and there was a struggle as they tried to move him to safety. The driver bit Trooper Murtha on his left forearm, Trooper Murtha used pepper spray, and the driver ultimately was handcuffed by the troopers with assistance from civilians who were at the scene. Minutes after the driver was moved to the berm of the roadway, he collapsed. An emergency medical technician was at the scene but the driver could not be resuscitated. The man was taken to Trinitas Hospital in Elizabeth where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy is being performed at the Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office in Newark.