An assistant football coach at The College of New Jersey was killed after his vehicle veered off Interstate 195 early Tuesday and hit a tree in Mercer County.

Donny Klein (The College of New Jersey)

Donald Klein III, 37 of Tinton Falls, was driving a Jeep Wrangler westbound when the crash took place at 5:11 a.m. near milepost 3 in Hamilton, State Police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:40 a.m., Trooper Alejandro Goez said.

There were no passengers in the Jeep and no other vehicles were involved.

A member of the Manasquan High School Hall of Fame, Klein starred in football and lacrosse before graduating in 1999 and going on to play college football at Temple University. Klein later returned to Manasquan High School as a coach for both programs.

"I've known Donny since he played football for Manasquan - we talk about tradition at Manasquan, he was very much a part of that tradition as a player and a coach," board of education president Tom Pellegrino said Tuesday afternoon. "We are very proud of his accomplishments both on and off the field and as a person we all genuinely liked him."

Klein left Manasquan two years ago to accept a position at TCNJ, where he was the team's offensive line coach as well as both the video and recruiting coordinator.

"We are in shock at the news of Coach Klein's passing," TCNJ athletic director Amanda DeMartino said in a statement. "Donny was beloved by the team and his colleagues and his energy and upbeat personality were admired by all of us at TCNJ. He will be greatly missed by our campus community. Our thoughts are with his family and friends."

Klein is survived by his father Donald ll, mother Cindy Zanfini, son Dax and girlfriend Courtney Colford, according to a family member.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.