WEST MILFORD — One of the victims of the Nov. 9 car crash on Macopin Road has died. Rosemary Puig, 58, of Newfoundland, died on last Wednesday, just before 8 p.m. according to West Milford police. She had been in St. Joseph Hospital, Paterson, since the accident.
Puig was driving southbound on Macopin Road Nov. 9, just before 1 p.m. when she was hit head-on by a car driven by Sonny N. Gorzala of Oak Ridge. Puig was the second car to be hit.
Gorzala, 21, was initially charged with several offenses, including possession of heroin, driving while intoxicated, and causing serious bodily injury while DWI. Since Puig’s death, Gorzala has also been charged with vehicular homicide/death by auto while operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Bail was set by Passaic County Superior Court Judge Hon. Sohail Mohammed at $250,000 with no 10 percent option. Gorzala is incarcerated in the Passaic County Jail.
Puig remembered
West Milford Councilwoman Ada Erik was a longtime friend of Puig. The two bonded over a shared passion – horses – nearly 40 years ago.
“She was the happiest person you’d ever want to meet,” said a tearful Erik on Wednesday, the day after a funeral service was offered for her friend. “And the craziest. She’s a horsewoman. That’s how we first met. Rosie was 19 and I was 21.”
Erik, who is also an EMT, said the injuries Puig sustained were insurmountable. She said first responders told her they had never seen someone so injured still alive.
“The body can’t live in that much pain,” said Erik. Although she was conscious and coherent right after the accident, telling first responders to call her husband, Jose, and Erik and even giving their cell phone numbers, she was kept in a medically induced coma because of the pain she was in. In the hospital, she had over 50 surgeries. She never regained consciousness.
An ordinary day
Nov. 9 was an ordinary day for Puig, Erik recalled. She fed her horses, cleaned the barn and headed to ShopRite for her groceries. After that, she would have headed to work at the Prudential Center in Newark where she was a waitress in the luxury boxes.
Nov. 9 was a life-changing day for Jose Puig, Rosemary’s husband. Jose came to the township council meeting Wednesday night, thanking the West Milford Police Department, fire department and EMTs for their efforts to save his wife.
“This community is very lucky to have these services,” said Jose Puig, his voice breaking.
Puig never made it home from ShopRite. Just seven minutes after leaving the supermarket heading down Macopin Road toward her Newfoundland home, Gorzala slammed into Puig’s 2005 Nissan. It took emergency crews nearly an hour to cut her out of the car. She died 12 days later.
“We’ve got to stop the drugs”
When Gorzala was released from St. Joseph Hospital, he was taken into custody and charged. The charges increased after Puig’s death. On Wednesday, Gorzala was arraigned, pleading not guilty to the charges against him. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the vehicular homicide charge; the other charges can amount to 35 years, according to Erik. But that doesn’t help those who are mourning.
“They can keep him in jail the rest of his life. It doesn’t bring Rosie back,” said Erik. “If he gets 10 years, he’ll be 31 when he gets out and has the opportunity to start a new life. That doesn’t bring Rosie back.”
Erik was disappointed that Gorzala, who she described as a “good looking boy, blond and blue eyed,” pleaded not guilty.
“If you do something wrong, you take ownership, you pay the penalty for it,” said Erik. “He hasn’t taken ownership.”
Gorzala was allegedly under the influence of heroin at the time of the accident. That infuriates and saddens Erik.
“We’ve got to stop the drugs,” said Erik. “We need police officers in the schools. If there aren’t enough police officers to be in the schools then we need to hire more police officers.”
Erik said she's also sad because society has failed Gorzala.
“Our system is very broken. We are hiding our heads,” she said.
Jose Puig also showed strength and compassion.
“Someone failed this young man somewhere along the line,” said Jose Puig.
As an EMT, Erik said she has taken classes in street drugs. We know it’s all out there, she said. “How can we not stop it?”
Erik, who graduated in 1970 from West Milford High School, said there were drugs then and there are drugs now. “They didn’t miraculously go away,” she added.
Rosie’s Law
Erik said she will work tirelessly to see changes made. She wants stiffer penalties for drug users, not just those selling drugs.
“I want a Rosie’s Law,” she said. “If you do drugs, the price has to be steep.”
Because, she said, it’s a choice.
Erik is making a choice too. In addition to working to make changes to drug laws, she said she will be making an effort to be a better person herself.
“Every time you lose someone, you have to live that much better to keep their memory and good name alive,” she said. “That’s what I will be doing for Rosie.”
What are your thoughts or memories of Rosie? Go to westmilfordmessenger.com and share them with us.