PEARL RIVER, N.Y. — A Porsche SUV plummeted off an overpass onto train tracks below, where it burst into flames, killing two teenagers and sending a third to a hospital with serious injuries.
The Porsche fell from Route 304 in Pearl River, N.Y., on Sunday afternoon after a crash involving an additional vehicle and burned on New Jersey Transit tracks below, authorities said.
Saniha Cekic, 15, of Brooklyn, and Altin Nezaj, 17, of Pearl River, were pronounced dead at hospitals, Orangeburg police said in a prepared statement. The driver, Aisha Radoncic, 17, of Orangeburg, was seriously injured.
Two teens were killed and another seriously injured when a collision sent their SUV plunging off an overpass Sunday in Pearl River. @ReenaRoy reports: https://t.co/RdK2KNU0Ya
— CBS New York (@CBSNewYork) October 14, 2019
“I was watching the car and all of a sudden I heard this big bang,” witness Joe Geppner told WCBS . “We started trying to put out the fire. All we heard was this poor girl screaming. And she was screaming terribly.”
“Thank God the fire department came,” Geppner said. “I kept seeing the flames no matter what they did, they just kept coming up.”
Pearl River HS football players visit site where crash killed teammate Altin Nezaj. A second teen from Brooklyn also was killed, and the 17yo driver is in critical. Late details at 5 on #CBS2 @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/43l1ch30rm
— Tony Aiello (@AielloTV) October 14, 2019
NJ Transit service was suspended in both directions along a section of the Pascack Valley line.
The driver of the other vehicle, Jason T. Castro, of Nanuet, wasn’t injured, police said. He was driving a Volkswagen Jetta.
Police didn’t provide details, including the mechanics of the initial crash and its cause.
Nezaj was a member of Pearl River High School’s football and wrestling teams; Radoncic also is a student there, according to the Journal News.
LATEST: Pearl River High School held a vigil, as we’re learning their community may have been affected by the crash. Police have yet to say what the condition for the victims may be. @PIX11News #PearlRiver #NewYork #Rockland pic.twitter.com/dIKinFDThN
— Cristian Benavides (@cbenavidesTV) October 14, 2019
The school was closed for Columbus Day but was offering counselors Monday and throughout the week.
“When our school community experiences a tragedy, such as the loss of a young life, it impacts all of us,” Schools Superintendent Marco F. Pochintesta said on the district’s website. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the students and their families and friends at this incredibly difficult time.”
