COLTS NECK — One person was killed and one briefly hospitalized after a crash early Sunday morning on Route 18 in Monmouth County.

Earl Lloyd Sanders, 54, of Neptune was driving a 2009 Mercedes Benz C350C on Route 18 southbound near Route 537, and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni. Sanders' 52-year-old passenger, who was not identified, was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and later released, according to the prosecutor.

Sanders died from an apparent gunshot wound, according to Gramiccioni, who did not disclose a motive for the shooting. Gramiccioni said Colts Neck Police received a 911 call for assistance from the car around 2 a.m.

The prosecutor did not disclose how Sanders was shot or if a weapon was found.

Video from the crash scene, posted to Twitter by NBC 4 New York, shows a Mercedes insignia among the debris in the wide grass median, and a guard rail bent backwards.

The road was shut between Routes 34 and 537 in Colts Neck around 4 a.m. but reopened around 11:45 a.m.

Gramiccioni asked anyone with information about the incident to call his office at 800-533-7443 or Colts Neck Police at 732-780-7323.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

 

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