Mourners Pay Respects to Pine Beach Accident Victim

A long line of people paid respect Monday to Matthew Witzgall, one of three people who died Feb. 3 when their car slammed into the Pine Beach Elementary School.

Mourners circled the room inside the Weatherhead-Young Funeral Home on Mantoloking Road where the viewing took place, many breaking down in tears and wondering aloud why Witzgall, a 21-year-old Toms River resident, was taken so young.

“I just can’t believe it,” one woman said, choking back tears. “I really can’t believe this could happen.”

Parking was tight at the funeral home, with two Brick police cars parked at an overflow lot across Mantoloking Road, where cars flowed in and out. A young man and woman got out of a car, both crying, and the woman comforted the man as he hesitated to walk in the funeral home’s front door. Other mourners were equally upset walking out of the building.

Photos of Witzgall lined the interior walls of the funeral home. Some shots were snapped years ago while others – including a photo of Witzgall relaxing on a boat at sunset – were more recent. In most of the more recent photos, Witzgall wore a hat and glasses, and was almost always captured with a smile on his face.

Witzgall, along with Matthew Budesa, 20, of Pine Beach, and Kimberly Van Gorden, 20, of Beachwood, died Feb. 3 when the car in which the three were traveling slammed at a high rate of speed into the school. The accident is still under investigation, officials say.

A funeral Mass for Witzgall will be held Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 9:30 a.m. at the Church of the Visitation, 730 Lynnwood Avenue, in Brick.