Millville man, 20, killed in car crash

April 4, 2011

MILLVILLE — Police say excessive speed was a factor in the crash of a motor vehicle that left a 20-year-old local man dead Sunday.
Christopher Mitrano of 9 Allard Court was pronounced dead at the scene about 1 a.m. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle, said Police Clerk Blaine Sheppard.
Sheppard said Mitrano's 2002 Camry swerved off Chestnut Hill Road and slammed into “multiple trees” with such force the car was severed.
“It was in two pieces,” said Sheppard. “The whole front end was sheared off, right behind the passenger section. That's just not something that happens at 25 or 30 mph.”
Sheppard said it's unknown precisely how fast Mitrano was traveling. That is a subject of continuing investigation by the Regional Crash Reconstruction Team.
Mitrano was wearing a seatbelt, Sheppard said. There was no evidence that alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash. An autopsy of the victim by the state medical examiner is pending, he said.
The accident happened near a curve at Tower Hill Road, but Sheppard said the curve is not particularly sharp.
Mitrano graduated from Blackstone-Millville Regional High School about two years ago and still had friends there, said Sheppard. School officials were expected to make grief counselors available for students.