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SAYREVILLE – A woman headed home following a Staind concert at Starland Ballroom Sunday night says she was caught up in a horrific accident that left one person dead, his friend in handcuffs and a half-dozen vehicles damaged on Route 9 South.

“There was a screech and then our car was hit by a chunk of concrete,” said Cindy Trocchio, 43, of Pennsylvania, a passenger in a Toyota Corrolla traveling north.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office has charged Nicholas Gomes, 20, with one count of death by auto, stating that he crashed into a concrete divider, killing his friend, Brandon Narleski, 19.

Investigators determined Gomes and Narleski were traveling south near Bordentown Avenue when the 1997 Mercedes E-420 he was driving struck the concrete highway divider shortly before 10:53 p.m. Narleski, who was in the front seat, was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene at 11:14 p.m., police said.

“The driver busted through that wall pretty hard,” Trocchio said.

Trocchio said concrete slabs struck the rear of her car and other vehicles traveling on Route 9 North on the opposite side of where the Mercedes crashed.

“There were cars pulled over all over the place,” Trocchio said. “People were getting out and asking everybody if they were all right.”

Sayreville police could not be reached for comment on the accident.

Gomes was held at the Middlesex County jail in North Brunswick in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Trocchio estimates six or seven cars were damaged by the concrete, which broke free from a highway divider during the crash.

“When the concrete hit (the cars), it hit low,” Trocchio said. “Thank God, because otherwise it would have gone through people’s windshields.”

Trocchio snapped several cellphone photos of the accident scene.

“I don’t know how the driver survived,” she said. “I don’t know how he got out of the car.”

Trocchio, who works in a hospital as a medical biller, said the accident has left her shaken days later.

“I felt so bad when I learned the young man (Narleski) had passed,” she said. “I hope the family gets closure, because it’s horrific.”

The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Officer Sivilli of the Sayreville Police Department at (732) 525-5429, or Detective Daniewicz of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-4018.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.