'Bright Smile:' Grief For NJ Woman In Wrong-Way Turnpike Crash

NORTH PLAINFIELD, NJ — Kristen Leary was fiercely independent and known for her outspoken personality, her bright smile and her caring and giving nature, her friends and family say.

Kristen was "taken from us far too soon," they said.

Leary, 29, of North Plainfield was tragically killed in a head-on car crash on the New Jersey Turnpike in Woodbridge early Monday morning.

The 2008 North Plainfield High School graduate had a passion for fashion. She graduated from Berkeley College with a fashion and business degree in 2013.

"She loved all aspects of it especially clothing, shoes and makeup. She enjoyed shopping, dancing, and spending time with her friends and family," according to her obituary posted on Higgins Funeral Home.

Now a fundraiser has been set up in her honor to help Leary's parents cover funeral costs. It has already raised more than $11,000. To make a donation to the GoFundMe click here.

She "had her whole life ahead of her," according to a GoFundMe created in her honor.

The crash occurred at 1:46 a.m. Monday southbound on the New Jersey Turnpike in the area of mile marker 94.1 in Woodbridge Township, said State Police Sgt. Lawrence Peele. (See Related: Woman, 29, Killed In Wrong-Way Turnpike Crash In Woodbridge)

Preliminary information indicates that a Subaru was driving north in the southbound lanes on the Turnpike. That's when it struck the front end of a Honda that was traveling southbound, driven by Leary.

Leary was pronounced dead at the scene, and the driver of the Subaru was transported to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital with serious injuries, said Sgt. Peele.

Leary is survived by her mother Diane Leary-Smagalla, her father Robert Leary, siblings Kimberley Leary, Jenna Smagalla, Scott Smagalla, Victoria Smagalla and Brooke Smagalla, grandfather Emil W. Habeeb and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Visitation will be held on Friday from 4 to 9 p.m. at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd., in Watchung. A funeral service will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the funeral home. Interment will be held at a later time at Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains.

Memorial donations can be made to: The Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.