What Happened
Joshua Guarino, 18, of Brick, was killed when his 2006 Honda Civic left Squankum Allenwood Road in Wall Township and plunged into a wooded area early Thursday morning, August 13, 2026, according to police. He was the only person in the car. Emergency crews pronounced him dead at the scene.
A 911 call brought emergency responders to the westbound lane of Squankum Allenwood Road at approximately 5:36 a.m., according to News 12 Long Island. Crews found the Civic heavily damaged inside the tree line off the roadway. No other vehicles were involved.
News 12 Long Island reporter Derek Callahan published the victim’s identification at 12:21 p.m. Thursday. Police confirmed Guarino’s hometown as Brick, a Ocean County municipality roughly four miles from Wall Township.
No cause of the crash had been released publicly as of the time of publication. Police have not announced charges or the involvement of alcohol or speed as contributing factors.
Location & Road Context
Squankum Allenwood Road runs east-west through Wall Township in Monmouth County, connecting inland residential areas to the Route 34 and Route 547 corridors. The stretch where Guarino’s Civic left the road borders wooded terrain on the westbound side, giving drivers little margin for recovery once a vehicle crosses the fog line.
Wall Township is in central New Jersey, outside Long Island Traffic’s primary coverage area of Nassau and Suffolk counties. This incident is reported here because the victim, Joshua Guarino, was a resident of Brick, a community with strong Long Island commuter ties, and because News 12 Long Island carried the report.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
No charges had been filed as of publication. The investigation into the cause of the crash remained open, with police releasing no information on speed, road conditions, or any toxicology findings. The next expected update is a formal determination of cause from Wall Township police or the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.