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Roy Thomas was driving a box truck when he ran into the back of a tractor trailer at a high rate of speed in Newark near the Kearny border early Tuesday morning, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, and Newark Public Safety Director Brian A. O’Hara said.
Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene just after 3 a.m.
The driver of the tractor trailer remained at the scene. No charges were filed.
A GoFundMe page organized by Reena Mathen had raised more than $67,000 for Thomas' family as of Thursday.
Thomas moved to the United States in 2003 and "hesitantly left his family behind in India to secure a better future for them," Mathen wrote.
"Roy was the breadwinner of the family working for daily wages. Roy was a hardworking, family man who worked night and day to achieve his dream of once again living together with his family in this land."
After 18 years of living apart from his family, Thomas was able to bring his loved ones over to the US just two weeks before the crash, according to Mathen.
He was also able to bring his kids to Canada on student visa with dreams of eventually moving them over to the US, too, she said.
Thomas was able to house his wife temporarily in a hotel room and was in the process of looking for a home, Mathen said.
"That is when tragedy struck and the unfortunate happened," she wrote.
"His dreams of living and being together with his family in the US came to an end.
"The family is devastated and is still coming to terms with what has happened."
The investigation is active and ongoing.
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