3 killed in 'horrific' head-on crash are from same N.J. town
October 6, 2018
By Bill Gallo Jr.
bgallo@njadvancemedia.com
For NJ.com
Authorities are still investigating a head-on crash that left three people from the same South Jersey town dead.
"Horrific" is how Chief of Police Allen J. Cummings described the Friday night accident scene on South Hook Road in Pennsville Township.
"In my 28 years in law enforcement, I have never been involved in the investigation of a crash where three people were killed in the same vehicle," the chief said.
Cummings said, according to the preliminary investigation, a Ford Focus heading northbound crossed the center line and struck, head-on, a Hyundai Sonata, which was headed southbound on the road around 8:47 p.m.
The three people killed in the accident were all in the Focus. They included the 74-year-old female driver, a 60-year-old female front-seat passenger and a 60-year-old back-seat male passenger.
The three were pronounced dead at the scene.
All are from neighboring Carneys Point Township, but Cummings, on Saturday morning, said authorities were still working to notify all of the victims' next of kin before releasing their names.
The driver of the Sonata and the front-seat passenger, both of Wilmington, Delaware, where taken to an area hospital with injuries Cummings described as "serious, but not life-threatening." They remained there Saturday morning.
Two small children who were in the Sonata, one an infant and one a toddler, were taken to A.I. du Pont Hospital outside of Wilmington to be evaluated. They were not believed to have been injured, Cummings said.
All of the occupants of the Sonata were wearing seat belts or in child seats. The two front-seat victims in the Focus were wearing seat belts. The back-seat victim was not, police said.
Fire and rescue crews from around Salem County were called to the accident scene. Because of the impact of the crash, all of the victims had to be extricated from their vehicles. In some cases roofs and doors were removed to reach them.
A witness told police they were driving behind the Focus and saw it drift into the other lane, striking the Sonata.
The crash scene is just south of Winslow Lane and is rural, surrounded mostly by fields and some wooded areas, with only a few homes nearby.
South Hook Road was closed for more than three hours between Mahoney Road and South Broadway for the accident investigation.
New Jersey State Police and the Salem County Prosecutor's Office also aided in the investigation.
Cummings praised emergency responders and staff at the Salem County Communications Center for their handling of the accident.
Obviously speed played a role here, considering the carnage. Perhaps the 74-year old female driver suffered a medical emergency.
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| Ford Focus |
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| Hyundai Sonata |
Saturday, October 06, 2018
PENNSVILLE, N.J. (WPVI) --
Police are investigating a deadly head-on crash in Pennsville, Salem County.
It happened before 9 p.m. Friday in the unit block of Hook Road.
Police say three people have died. They were occupants in a 4-door sedan with New Jersey tags.
The 3 victims are a man in his 50s, a woman in her 60s and another woman in her 30s.
The two injured were in a vehicle with Delaware tags. They were taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police say there were two children in that car, but they escaped injury.
The crash is under investigation.
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PENNSVILLE, NJ -
Police say a head-on collision between two cars claimed the lives of three people in South Jersey.
Pennsville Township police say the crash happened shortly before 9 p.m. Friday when a northbound car crossed the center line and collided with a southbound car in Salem County.
The three people killed were all in the northbound car and were pronounced dead at the scene. They were described as a 74-year-old woman, a 60-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man, all from neighboring Carneys Point Township.
The driver and a passenger of the other car were taken to a hospital with injuries described as serious but not life-threatening. Both are from Wilmington, Delaware. Two children in that car were believed uninjured.
Chief of Police Allen Cummings called the crash "horrific."