Daughter Asks Drivers for Dashcam Footage of Fatal Parkway Crash

Daughter Asks Drivers for Dashcam Footage of Fatal Parkway Crash

TOMS RIVER – Kayla Edgell never expected to receive video showing her father’s final moments on the road. The first recording came to her unexpectedly, four days after his death.

Mark D. Edgell Sr., 57, was killed in a September 10 crash on the Garden State Parkway. On September 14, a motorist who had been driving in the area reached out to Kayla through social media. The driver had dashcam recordings from both the front and rear cameras and believed the footage might help the family. The motorist also provided the video to New Jersey State Police.

Kayla said she received the recordings before launching a public request for additional footage on social media. After reviewing the video, she was left questioning whether another vehicle may have played a role in the events leading up to her father’s Nissan Pathfinder losing control.

The official crash report has not yet been made available to Kayla. She is now asking anyone who was traveling southbound on the Parkway near mile marker 103.1 around 4:50 p.m. on Thursday, September 10, to come forward.

The family is seeking witnesses and any dashcam, cellphone or other video that could offer a different perspective on the crash.

“Somebody somewhere saw something,” Kayla said. “Whether it’s a phone video, dashcam footage, or they just saw it with their own eyes.”

Video Raises New Questions

Kayla said New Jersey State Police initially characterized the incident as a single-vehicle crash. She was told her father first struck a guardrail, tried to regain control, crossed the Parkway and eventually left the roadway, entering an embankment where the Nissan Pathfinder hit a tree.

The family has not yet received the official crash report. Kayla said she has contacted authorities several times seeking more information but has been informed that the investigation is still ongoing and the report has not been released.

According to Kayla, the autopsy found no indication that her father experienced a medical emergency before the crash. The examination determined that his cause of death was blunt-force trauma to the head and neck.

The dashcam footage Kayla received, which was reviewed by the newspaper, does not clearly capture a collision. It does show vehicles traveling near her father’s Pathfinder, while a sudden loud sound is heard as the vehicles move beyond the camera’s view.

Kayla believes another vehicle seen in the footage may have moved into or toward her father’s lane just before he lost control. She suspects the vehicles could have made contact, but the available recording does not provide a clear view of that moment. There is currently no released police report confirming that another vehicle was involved.

“You can see everything, and you can hear a collision happen,” Kayla said. “But it’s on the side of the person who sent me the dashcam footage. It’s on the side of their car, so you can’t see it in the frame.”

Because the existing footage does not provide a definitive answer, Kayla is continuing her search for additional video from another angle. She has shared appeals on social media, placed flyers at the Judy Blume Service Area and offered a cash reward for anyone who can provide relevant footage.

She is also concerned about time, fearing that dashcam recordings from September 10 may be automatically overwritten or deleted if drivers have not saved them.

“I know we’re getting down to crunch time,” she said.

Kayla continues to express her gratitude to the strangers who stopped to help after her father’s vehicle left the Garden State Parkway. She said an off-duty U.S. Coast Guard member and a trauma nurse were among those who performed CPR, while a state trooper also tried to provide lifesaving assistance.

Kayla is now asking anyone who traveled that section of the Parkway on September 10 to review their dashcam or other recordings, even if they do not recall seeing the crash. A camera may have captured Edgell’s Pathfinder or another vehicle moments before or after the incident, without the driver realizing that the footage could be important.

After unexpectedly receiving a video four days after her father’s death, Kayla is hopeful that another recording may still exist and could help fill in the missing details surrounding the crash.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or was traveling southbound on the Garden State Parkway near mile marker 103.1 at approximately 4:50 p.m. on September 10 and may have dashcam, cellphone or other video is asked to contact Kayla Edgell at kaylaedgell96@gmail.com.