Families honor couple's memory, one year later
Parents support bill, start scholarship fund in memory of victims
BY MARY ANNE ROSS Correspondent
Expressions of affection usually found in high school yearbooks are scrawled across two crosses that mark the East Brunswick site where Jon Mustafa, 18, and Lesley Carness, 16, died on April 8, 2007:

ERIC SUCAR staff Family members and friends gather at a roadside memorial on Route 18 in East Brunswick April 8 to mark the one-year anniversary of the deaths of Lesley Carness, 16, and Jon Mustafa, 18. The young couple from East Brunswick died as the result of injuries sustained in a car crash just south of West Ferris Street. Authorities continue to seek the driver of a dark Jeep Liberty that may have caused the crash in an act of road rage.

"We had amazing times," "Best friends always," "Love you forever," "I'll never forget you."

One cross bears a large picture of the handsome young couple smiling at the camera, the other a poem in honor of the one-year anniversary of their deaths. The crosses are decorated with a garland of white balloons, rosary beads, wind chimes and a ceramic heart that dangles from a red ribbon. On the ground are Lesley's bowling trophies and Jon's baseball.

ERIC SUCAR staff Terry Carness (l) and Jan Mustafa, mothers of Lesley and Jon, mark the one-year anniversary of the couple's death in a car accident alongside Route 18 southbound in East Brunswick. The families hope the driver of a dark Jeep Liberty believed to have caused the accident will be found.

Candles, small statues of angels, teddy bears that look a bit ragged from being out in the weather, flowers including bouquets of roses, red, yellow and purple tulips, and carnations in all colors also marked the roadside site a year to the day after the young couple's lives were cut tragically short.

A small crowd of friends and family gathered at the memorial alongside Route 18 south to remember the pair in the early afternoon on April 8.

Jon and Lesley had been bringing

a cake to her grandmother on Easter Sunday in 2007 when Jon's Honda Civic was cut off by what authorities believe was a dark-colored Jeep Liberty that stopped abruptly in front of them, possibly in an act of road rage. Witnesses said Jon tried to avoid a collision by steering his car sharply to the right, causing him to lose control of the car. The vehicle rotated, struck a curb and rolled over, continuing until it struck a tree between Route 18 and the Village Green Shopping Center.

A surveillance camera at a Route 18 bank captured this image of the vehicles stopped at a traffic light seconds before the crash that killed Jon Mustafa and Lesley Carness on April 8, 2007. Mustafa's Honda Civic is seen in the left lane; the front of a witness's vehicle can be seen in the middle lane; and the dark Jeep Liberty that authorities are now seeking is in the right lane.

Michael and Jan Mustafa, Jon's parents, and Terry Carness, Lesley's mother, fought back tears as they addressed the group last week. Jan held her husband's hand, put her arm around Terry and thanked everyone for coming.

"Life is a gift," Michael said, "We know that through our children's lives."

Terry read the unsigned poem "One," which had been attached to one of the crosses. Friends who went to East Brunswick High School with Jon and Lesley reminisced in hushed tones about the times they had together.

PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff Above: Mike and Jan Mustafa take part in the memorial service for their 18-year-old son, Jon, and his girlfriend, Lesley Carness, 16. At right: Friends pay their respects at the memorial site.

Authorities have actively sought to identify the suspect who caused the accident, said to be a white male who had a white female passenger, both in their 20s or 30s.

No one has been charged. That is a source of frustration for the families. Both mothers are convinced the crash was caused in an act of road rage.

"There is no doubt in my mind that they were murdered," Jan said.

Terry pointed out the comments of a witness who was sitting in the middle lane between the victims' and the suspects' cars, while stopped at a red light at Route 18 south and West Ferris Street.

"He said the driver of the Jeep moved up and was glaring at the kids. They didn't even notice him. They were just talking and looking forward," Terry said. "When the light changed he took off across the highway to get in front of them," then slamming on his brakes and leading to the crash.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office has given the same account based on its investigation. However, authorities have had little to go on in finding the suspect. Witnesses reported that there was a letter "J" in the Jeep's license plate. There is also a photo from a security camera of an ATM at a nearby bank.

The families were given more hope recently when the photo was enhanced.

"They took it to the NFL," Terry said. "Apparently they have all kinds of equipment for enhancement and they are willing to work with law enforcement."

The families are also hoping more witnesses will come forward.

"Perhaps someone was just traveling through the East Brunswick area last year; they might be back around now. We want them to know that this person has not been caught, and even if they have a little bit of information it could be helpful," Terry said.

It has been a difficult year for both families. "Everywhere I go I'm reminded of him, and I just don't understand why this happened. It was so sudden. I never had a chance to say goodbye," Jan said.

"I left them in the kitchen," Terry said. "Lesley was making a marshmallow brownie recipe she found online. There were marshmallows on the counter and they were getting the flour down from the cabinet. That was the last time I saw her."

Terry now has a ritual that she goes through daily.

"I keep their pictures on a chest in my living room. I turn the light on them every day when I come home from work, and then I go in Lesley's bedroom and turn on her computer with the screen saver of her and Jon. It's my way of feeling she is with me."

Jan explained how she was coping with what is every parent's worst nightmare.

"I pray and I try to keep busy," she said.

The two mothers help to support each other.

"We hadn't met before the accident, and now I feel she is the only one that really knows what I am going through," Terry said. "I thank God I have my job. Otherwise I don't think I would get out of bed in the morning."

The two have been working hard to have something good come from their personal tragedies. They are supporting Bill A231, which would create a new motor vehicle offense for engaging in a pattern of aggressive driving in New Jersey. State assemblymen Jon Bramnick (R-21), John Wisniewski (D-19) and Nelson Albano (D- 1) sponsored the bill.

"I don't want anyone else to go through this, and people need to understand how dangerous aggressive driving is," Jan said.

Jon Mustafa had graduated East Brunswick High School and was attending West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Lesley was a junior at EBHS at the time of the accident. Last year, their families sponsored two college scholarships for East Brunswick students. One was for a student who wanted to go into accounting, which was Jon's area of interest; the other was for someone pursuing the culinary arts, as Lesley wanted to go to cooking school.

"It's our way of keeping their dreams alive, of making sure they are not forgotten," Terry said.

On June 14, the East Brunswick Elks Lodge, on Hardenburg Lane, will hold a tricky tray raffle to help raise money for the Lesley Carness and Jon Mustafa Scholarship Fund. The lodge is soliciting donations from businesses and organizations for items that can be raffled off during the event. It is also sponsoring a dinner benefit that will include refreshments and live entertainment. Tickets are $30 for adults; $20 for students.Monetary donations can be made to the Lesley Carness and Jon Mustafa Scholarship Fund, c/o The Provident Bank, 371 Spotswood Englishtown Road,Monroe Township, NJ, 08831. For more information, call Terry at (732) 841-4532 or Jan at (908) 217-9760.

Those who wish to support the aggressive driving bill should contact their state legislators. A listing can be found at www.njleg.state.nj.us. The Law and Public Safety Committee is at aswspencer@njleg.org.

"If the legislation is passed, we are told it will bear Jon and Lesley's names," Jan said.

The families are also offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the driver believed to have caused the crash.

Anyone with information about the driver or passenger of the suspect vehicle is asked to call Investigator John Dando at (732) 745-3300.