The parents of Michael Adams is seeking answers, and put up a $20,000 reward, regarding the hit-and-run crash that killed their 24-year-old son this past September.
JEFFERSON -- Michael Adams thought he was doing the right thing on September 19 when he tried walking home from a local bar in Jefferson instead of driving, his family and police have said.
Instead, the 24-year-old Army reservist was struck down by a large vehicle on Route 15 north at about 3 a.m., which then fled the scene. He died later that morning from injuries sustained in the crash.
His grief-stricken family has been searching for answers -- and put up a $20,000 reward for information -- because leads to this case have been scant. His father, Tom Adams, told NJ Advance Media he'd personally put fliers up at businesses along Route 15 as well as two 5-by-10 foot banners near the crash site itself.
"I thought the guilt would get to (the driver)," he said.
Michael Adams was found in the roadway on Route 15 north after he apparently tried walking home from Club 15 after last call, police have said. He lived less than a mile away.
That section of Route 15 has no shoulder -- as the guardrails abut the roadway -- and the area is not lit, Deputy Chief Eric Wilsusen has said.
http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2015/10/20k_reward_offered_for_info_on_fatal_route_15_hit-.html
"Should he have been there? Probably not," Tom Adams said. "I could understand if it took the driver a day or two to turn himself in, but now it's a little over two months. He wasn't little, he was 230 pounds. Don't tell me you didn't know you hit my son."
"It would be nice to have those answers," he said of the crash. "I'm not saying it's going to help everything but it will be a little bit of closure."
His mother, Lisa Adams, said if there was one thing she wanted the driver who struck her son to know it's that "he was just a wonderful, wonderful person."
Michael Adams was a lifelong resident of Jefferson and a graduate of Pope John XXIII High School. Adams, who also attended Montclair State University, was a driver for High Grade Beverage, a part-time cook at Mason Street Pub, and he served in the United States Army Reserves.
In the weeks after her son's death, Lisa Adams said there's been "such an outpouring of people" whose lives had all been touched by her son.
"That's the kind of kid he was," she said. "It was just crazy the amount of people that came out. He touched a lot of people."
"There's so many things that he did that touched others that we never knew about," she said. One of those cases, she said, was a former co-worker who Michael inspired to join the Army.
http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2015/09/no_leads_yet_in_fatal_hit-and-run_crash_on_route_1.html
Wilsusen said in September township police had no leads regarding the apparent hit-and-run crash. A number of people stopped to help Michael Adams but no witnesses to the actual crash had come forward at the time. It's also not clear what type of vehicle struck him as no debris was recovered from the scene of the crash.
The investigation remains active and ongoing by both township police and the prosecutor's office. Authorities are asking for the public's help in identifying anyone who may have knowledge of this incident or of the circumstances leading to Michael Adams' death.
Anyone with more information on this incident can contact the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit at 973-285-6200 or the Jefferson Township Police Department at 973-697-1300.
Anonymous tips can be submitted by visiting the Morris County CrimeStoppers' website, calling 973-COP-CALL (973-267-2255), or texting 274637 using the key word "MORRISTIP."
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
