Tractor-trailer driver charged in deaths of Pa. mom, two young sons

    Police say a tractor-trailer making an illegal U-turn collided with an SUV on a New Jersey highway, killing a mother and her two young sons. The truck driver has been charged with three counts of death by auto.

    Mercer County prosecutors tell The Times of Trenton that the crash happened Friday night on Route 1 in Lawrence.

    Killed in the crash were 25-year-old Jamella Tisdale, her infant son, Jaden, and her 9-year-old son, Jaevon Durante. The infant’s father and the woman’s 8-year-old daughter remained hospitalized Saturday in stable condition.

    • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

    Prosecutors say the family was from Levittown, Pa.

    The truck driver was 45-year-old Richard Williams, of New York City’s Brooklyn borough. He was being held Saturday on $100,000 bail. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had retained an attorney.

    WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

    Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

    Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal