Family, Friends Mourn Little Silver Native Killed By Alleged Drunk Driver

LITTLE SILVER, NJ — Family and friends are mourning a Little Silver native who was killed by an alleged drunk driver on Rt. 440 Wednesday.

Jason Appio, 45, was doing what he did every afternoon for nearly the past twenty years: Driving home to Ocean Township from his job in Staten Island. Appio worked as a Fios technician for Verizon.

"He never liked that commute. But he did what he had to do to support his family," his sister-in-law Donna Otten told Patch. "He was extremely hard working. He would often work six, seven days a week just to collect the overtime so he could provide for his kids."

Born in Brooklyn, raised in Little Silver, Appio and his wife, Jennifer, have lived in Ocean Township for over fifteen years now.

At 3:36 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6, Appio was driving south on 440 through Perth Amboy. Once he got home, his wife, their teenage son and a fourteen-year-old daughter would be waiting for him. A third child, their oldest son, was away at college.

But he never made it home.

"My sister, Jennifer, got a phone call that he'd been in an accident," said Otten. "She was told to come up Raritan Bay Medical Center right away."

Appio's Hyundai Sonata was rear-ended by a tractor trailer driven by Aleksander Isserovich. The Sonata jolted forward, striking the car in front of it. The tractor trailer then jackknifed and struck two other cars on 440. Just minutes earlier, another driver had called 911 to report that the tractor trailer was driving very erratically before the crash.

Witnesses said they'd never seen such a bad crash.

Isserovich, 38, of Brooklyn is suspected of driving while either drunk or under the influence of drugs, State Police said. Additionally, his license had been suspended in New Jersey, but he drove anyway, the Middlesex County Prosecutor said.

"He died at the scene, we think," said Otten. "By the time my sister got to the hospital, they told her he was gone."

Isserovich was also taken to Raritan Bay for injuries; the other drivers suffered minor injuries.

Appio's family and friends are struggling with the shock of it all.

"We were all just sitting in the living room yesterday, thinking, 'I can't believe we're talking about Jason's funeral,'" Otten said on Friday. "His parents are both still alive and they're taking it really hard. His mother keeps holding Jason's baby pictures and saying she wishes she was with her son."

More than just a hard-working provider, Appio is also remembered as a doting sports dad — one who also never took the game too seriously.

"He literally lived for his kids. He never missed a tournament, never missed a game," said Steve Carcaterra, who runs United Lacrosse, a league based in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Both Appio's sons played in the league and were standouts. His oldest now plays lacrosse for Florida Southern College.

"He attended practices to watch his kids play, but he would always stand off to the side. You could tell he was just happy to be there, watching. At the end of practice, he'd always say, 'Thank you, Coach.' You don't hear that too often from parents nowadays," said Carcaterra. "Then they would all pile into his car and drive home. You could just tell they were a very happy family."

"He was just a hard-working family man," he added. "That's what he was. Jay was a throwback. He had that old-school mentality."

His funeral will be Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. at St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church in Long Branch. Visitation will be Monday, Sept. 11 at Fiore Funeral home in Oakhurst and hours can be found here. Isserovich was charged with death by auto and causing death by auto while operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license. He was also charged with driving under the influence.

"This was something that should not have happened. This was a death that could have been prevented," said Carcaterra. "This is very, very hard for a lot of people who loved Jason to come to grips with right now. Hopefully someone reads this and makes a better decision next time."

A GoFundMe page was set up for the Appio family.