COLTS NECK — Many unanswered questions remain about a fatal crash on Route 18 early Sunday that left one man dead from an apparent gunshot wound

The death early Sunday morning of Earl Lloyd Sanders, 54, of Neptune CIty from an apparent gunshot wound remained under investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Monday.

Sanders was a barber in Asbury Park at Everlasting's Unisex Hair Salon.

"Heart breaking. He was cool as ice, this is unbelievable. Prayers to his family," wrote Alecqua Anderson in a comment on a Facebook post by Dwayne Love. Love, a photographer, had  posted an image of Sanders' salon and information about the incident.

"So sad he use to cut my boys hair when they were little he had the best barber shop around back in the day R.I.P," wrote Ebony Gibson.

What we know so far:

Colts Neck Police responded to a one-car crash around 2 a.m. on Route 18 southbound near Route 537 and found Sanders and a passenger inside a 2009 Mercedes Benz C350. Sanders was pronounced dead at the scene, Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni has said.

He has not disclosed the circumstances of the crash.

Some of the questions surrounding the incident:  .

  • Who shot Sanders? The circumstances leading up to the crash are not clear. Gramiccioni said that police responded to a 911 call and found the car in the median.
  • What is the passenger's role in the incident? The identity of Saunders'  passenger and their relationship was not disclosed by Gramiccioni. The 52-year-old was treated for a non-life threatening injury and released.
  • Was a weapon recovered? Route 18 was closed between Routes 34 and 537 in both directions for nearly nine hours for an investigation following the crash but Gramiccioni did not disclose what officers were looking for or what they found.
  • Why was Route 18 closed for so long? Investigators used a drone to search the wide grassy median of Route 18. Video of the crash scene showed  a Mercedes insignia among the debris in the wide grass median, and a guard rail bent backwards.

Gramiccioni asked anyone with information about the incident to call his office at 800-533-7443 or Colts Neck Police at 732-780-7323.

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