Heather Brown's funeral was Wednesday.
Posted by Heather Brown on Thursday, November 12, 2015
IRVINGTON -- A woman who was seriously injured in a Nov. 7 crash on the Garden State Parkway has died, police confirmed.
Heather Brown, 35, of Shrewsbury, was transported to University Hospital in Newark after the 1:18 a.m. crash, police said. She was pronounced dead there on Nov. 12, State Police Lt. Brian Polite said Thursday.
According to an Asbury Park Press report, Brown was a trustee on the Tinton Falls Board of Education. The board held a moment of silence in her memory at its meeting Monday, the report said.
School officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
UPDATE: Police investigating alcohol's role in fatal Parkway crash
Brown was the passenger in a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu that crashed into a guardrail at milepost 143.6 early that Saturday morning, Polite said. The driver, Crystal Simmons, 43, of Orange, has been charged with assault by auto in connection with the crash, authorities said. Authorities are investigating whether or not alcohol played a role in the crash, officials said Friday.
The state police and Essex County Prosecutor's Office are continuing to investigate the crash, and "a determination will be made if additional charges will be levied against the driver," Polite said.
Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Katherine Carter said Thursday that additional charges had not been filed, but noted that the investigation is ongoing.
Brown's obituary says she graduated from Monmouth Regional High School in 1998, attended Kean University, and worked as an operations analyst at Commvault Systems in Tinton Falls. She was married, with a nine-year-old daughter, it says.
In an online fundraising site set up to help the family with funeral expenses, a friend called Brown full of life, and brave.
"Heather's life was so full," the page reads. "Her daughter made her life complete, along with friends and family who love her."
Note: This story previously stated that Simmons had been charged with a DWI. State police corrected an earlier report Friday, saying the matter is still under investigation.
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
