A Pennsylvania man's vehicle struck Summit officer Matthew Tarentino's vehicle head-on on Tuesday morning, police said
BERNARDS -- The second driver killed in a three-car Route 78 wreck that left a Summit police officer dead was identified Thursday as a Pennsylvania man who started the chain-reaction crash when his car veered across the median into oncoming traffic.
Archibald McGlashan, 68, of Bethlehem, Pa., was driving a Toyota Camry westbound on the highway Tuesday morning when his car crossed the median to the eastbound lanes, State Police said Thursday.
His car struck another Toyota Camry driven by Summit police officer Matthew Tarentino head-on, State Police spokesman Trooper Alejandro Goez said. Tarentino's vehicle then overturned and collided with an eastbound Honda Accord driven by Larry Staley, 54, of Easton, Pa., Goez said.
Tarentino, a father of two with a baby on the way, was pronounced dead at the scene. The 68-year-old Pennsylvania man was taken Morristown Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
The cause of the 6:20 a.m. crash remains under investigation. The wreck occurred at milepost 33 on Route 78, where there are no guardrails or trees separating the lanes of the busy highway.
Staley was also taken to the hospital but his injuries were not considered life-threatening, Goez said.
State Police previously said a second driver involved in the three-car crash also died, but hadn't said until Thursday whether it was the driver whose vehicle crossed the median.
Tarentino, of Somervile, was driving to work on Tuesday morning when he was killed. A Rutgers University graduate, Tarentino had served on the Summit police force for five years and was the department's D.A.R.E. officer.
He was scheduled to participate in a D.A.R.E. graduation ceremony for Summit elementary school students that afternoon. Tarentino was posthumously promoted to detective on Wednesday.
Funeral services for Tarentino have been announced with visiting hours Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Church of the Immaculate Conception on 35 Mountain Ave. in Somerville. A burial Mass will be held Monday at 10 a.m. at the church followed by a graveside service at Resurrection Cemetery on 899 East Lincoln Avenue in Piscataway.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.