Max Spivak dead and obituary, killed in Route 18 wrong-way crash

A 21-year-old Rutgers University student died after a Woodbridge man was involved in a hit-and-run crash on Highway 18 early Thursday morning.

Law enforcement has identified the victim as Max Spivak of Old Bridge. Spivak majored in sports management in the Rutgers College of Arts and Sciences, according to a university spokesman.

Middlesex County Attorney Yolanda Ciccone announced that Nageswar Polamuri, 42, of Iselin District, was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash, a second-degree felony.

Police said they were directed to the south lane of Route 18 near the Piscataway-New Brunswick border at around 12:58 a.m. on Feb. 16 following reports of a car crashing into Route 18 On the south side of the road, went the wrong way and hit his head. Continued to drive another car.

Arriving officers located Spivak, who was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he was pronounced dead, prosecutors said.

The driver of the other vehicle, Poramuri, fled the scene but was later located and charged, prosecutors said.

According to Spivak’s LinkedIn page, he has worked as a part-time social media manager and soccer coach at Marlboro’s CTR Soccer since 2016. The CTR Soccer website lists Spivak as a Cedar Star Development Academy coach/coach-player.

As of May 2020, Spivak was on Rutgers’ dean’s list and, according to his LinkedIn page, speaks native or bilingual Russian. Investigation is ongoing.