Here's the local story of this tragedy:

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/6599577p-6448659c.html

Jogger struck, killed in Barnegat Twp.
By ZACH PATBERG Staff Writer, (609) 978-2010
Published: Tuesday, August 8, 2006

BARNEGAT TOWNSHIP — Kerri Piccinich's idea of a vacation was an
uninterrupted workout.

While the rest of her family lay on the beach absorbing the sun, she
could be seen doing laps in the waves. While her parents and sisters
enjoyed a Sunday afternoon inside their air-conditioned Barnegat
home, the 31-year-old would be running miles in the midday heat.

All her favorite activities when visiting her parents every summer
from the West Coast involved muscle power: surfing, fishing, biking,
jogging.

She lived on the move.

It was while making the jog from a gym in Tuckerton to her family's
house in Barnegat that Piccinich was struck from behind by a 1995
Chevy Tahoe, police said. The SUV, driven by Donna Pierce, 35, of
Roselle, was northbound on Route 9 in Barnegat just before 2 p.m.
when it swerved onto the shoulder, hitting Piccinich and a mailbox.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her family, concerned that Piccinich hadn't returned from her
workout, got into separate cars to look for her.
"She wasn't home by 3 so we started to get a little panicky," said
Jeannine Piccinich, her older sister.

They soon arrived at the same spot where police had taped off Route
9. They asked an officer what happened. The officer told them.

Police didn't yet know how Roselle managed to merge onto the
shoulder and hit a jogger when the day was sunny and the road was
straight. Capt. Arthur Drexler said investigators were still waiting
on evidence such as blood samples and that charges may take another
week. He did say that any charges handed down, however, would most
likely be no more serious than a motor vehicle violation.

Roselle had her three young children, a girl, 10, and boys 8 and 7,
in the SUV at the time.

Kerri Piccinich, an engineer for Boeing, had been living outside of
Los Angeles since getting her masters at the University of Los
Angeles in 1997. For about the last nine months, however, her job
had temporarily moved her to near Seattle, WA, Jeannine Piccinich,
33, of Chicago, said.

Along with taking up surfing in California, she would routinely run
triathlons. She completed the Iron Man out west last summer.

The two sisters, both of whom went to Northwestern University,
arranged to visit their parents and 23-year-old sister, Lauren, at
the same time every summer in Barnegat, where the family's roots had
grown since Kerri Piccinich was 2. When everyone took a break from
their physical endeavors during the vacation, Kerri Piccinich would
carry on.

This past week had been filled with going to the beach and fishing
off their boat. "It was kind of a family thing," Jeannine Piccinich
said.


To e-mail Zach Patberg at The Press:

ZPatberg@...