Couple Killed By Fallen Tree Were Randolph Residents

The couple killed when a 100-foot tree fell on their pickup truck during the height of Tropical Storm Sandy Monday night in Mendham Township has been identified.

Richard R. Everett, 54, was driving the four-door Chevy Silverado and his wife, Elizabeth A. Everett, 48, was the front-seat passenger, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday night.

The Randolph couple's two children, 11- and 14-year-old boys, were each seated in the back seat and managed to exit the vehicle through the back before responders arrived on the scene.

According to Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi, Richard Everett was travelling northbound on North Gate Road when a tree approximately 100 feet high and about 3 feet in diameter fell, crushing the front of the pickup truck shortly before 7:30 p.m.

The couple was pronounced dead at the scene by Morris County Medical Examiner Dr. Ronald Suarez, Bianchi said.

Suarez determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma and the manner of death was accident, Bianchi said.

"We are saddened about the tragic loss of these two parents whose children were in the car with them when this terrible tragedy occurred," Bianchi said. "Our prayers are with the family, especially the children, who must now deal with such a terrible loss."