What to Know
- Stephen Chiarle, 48, of Cape May Court House, New Jersey, was killed in a crash on the Garden State Parkway Sunday morning.
- Chiarle's SUV was stopped on the Garden State Parkway when it was struck by another vehicle passing by.
- Chiarle, who was disabled, was the father of 8 children, including two sons who suffer severe disabilities. He worked as an Uber driver.
A family is in mourning after a disabled father, who was working as an Uber driver to help provide for his eight children, was killed in a crash on the Garden State Parkway only days before Thanksgiving.
Stephen Chiarle, 48, of Cape May Court House, New Jersey, was inside his Ford Edge which was stopped on the Garden State Parkway in Little Egg Harbor Township, Sunday morning. The SUV was then hit by another vehicle passing by.
Chiarle was pronounced dead and the driver of the striking vehicle suffered serious injuries.
“He was obsessed with us,” Cortney Perry, Chiarle’s daughter, said. “He would spend his last dollar on us just to make us smile.”
The crash occurred only two months after Chiarle asked for help in a GoFundMe post, describing his financial struggles as a disabled father of eight children, including two sons who have severe disabilities.
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“He went and visited my two handicapped brothers who live in a group home at least once a month,” Perry said.
Loved ones told NBC10 Chiarle was working as an Uber driver at the time, only hours after attending a birthday party for one of his seven grandchildren.
“He was so excited because he could make money for the family and finally have a decent Christmas for the kids and be financially okay,” Chiarle’s girlfriend, Vicki Ehrenberg, told NBC10.
Loved ones also said Chiarle loved driving for Uber because he could share his story about overcoming addictions to drugs and alcohol. He had been clean for more than six years, according to his family.
“He said if he could touch one person and help them, it meant a lot to them,” Ehrenberg said.
Police have not yet released additional details on the crash. Meanwhile, Chiarle’s loved ones continue to mourn and seek strength in one another.
“We’re all going to stick together,” Perry said. “We’re all going to pick up the pieces and keep the glue together as much as we can without him.”
