Loved ones are mourning a New Jersey father, his two daughters and his niece after all four were killed in a car crash while driving home from a birthday party over the weekend.
George Ritter, 34, was driving along 1000 Gateway Boulevard in his hometown of Westville, New Jersey, around 10 p.m. Saturday when he somehow lost control of his Mustang and crashed into a utility pole.
Ritter, his two daughters Elsie, 5, and Alivia, 9, as well as his niece, 8-year-old Kenzie Mammoccio, all died in the crash.
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“I feel like I have a hole in my heart,” Kenzie’s father, Brian Mammoccio, said. “Big piece of it missing. She had a giggle like no one else.”
Mammoccio, of Mt. Ephraim, New Jersey, told NBC10 his daughter loved roller coasters, bike-riding and dancing on TikTok.
“She was bright. She was gorgeous. She loved me with her entire heart,” Mammoccio said while in tears. “She was probably the biggest daddy’s girl.”
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Police are currently interviewing witnesses and working to obtain surveillance images as they investigate the cause of the crash. Westville Police Lieutenant Michael Packer told NBC10 it was the worst car wreck he’s seen in his 15-year career.
"We are looking at speed. We are looking at careless driving,” Lt. Packer said. “And we're still waiting for the results of some tests to come back."
The speed limit is 45 mph in the area where the crash occurred. Police also said the Mustang was equipped with a roll bar and it doesn’t appear anyone inside was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
"It's part of the investigation to find out where he was coming from. Who he was with,” Lt. Packer said. “Was he drinking?"
Police told NBC10 they didn’t receive any phone calls or complaints about any cars speeding through Westville Saturday evening.
Prior to the crash, Ritter and the three girls had left a birthday party at the Westville Power Boat Association where they often played. The association created a GoFundMe to help the victims’ family members cover funeral costs. So far they’ve raised more than $30,000.
Meanwhile, Mammoccio is hoping for more answers as he continues to mourn.
“I do want to get to the bottom of what happened,” he said. “I do want justice for my daughter. And two little girls, my nieces.”
He also has a message for other parents.
"Cherish every single moment you have with your children, whether it's good, bad,” he said. “Just cherish every moment because you'll never know when it might end or when you might lose them."
Officials are currently in the process of arranging grief counselors for police and first responders who rushed to the scene that night.
