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LINWOOD, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey high school and its surrounding community were trying to regroup Sunday, a day after four players on its football team were killed and four more were injured in an SUV crash as they traveled to a team meal.
The driver apparently lost control of the SUV on Saturday morning as it went around a crest on the Garden State Parkway and came upon heavy traffic late Saturday morning, said Sgt. Julian Castellanos, a state police spokesman. The SUV overturned several times, ejecting two passengers, one of whom was struck by a passing car, Castellanos said.
All eight played for the Mainland Regional High School football team in Linwood and ranged in age from 15 to 17, state police confirmed Sunday.
The driver, 17-year-old Casey Brenner of Northfield, was killed, as were Dean Khoury of Linwood, 15; and two 16-year-olds, Edgar Bozzi of Somers Point and Nicholas Conner of Northfield. The injured included two Linwood residents, 17-year-old Jacob Smith and 15-year-old Kenneth Randall, and two 16-year-old Northfield residents, Kyle Beattie and Alex Denafo. Their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Under New Jersey state law, drivers under 18 years old generally are not allowed to carry more than one passenger unless a parent or guardian is in the vehicle. It appears that Brenner may have violated that law as he drove a carload of teammates to meet other players at a restaurant to celebrate the last practice of the summer before scrimmages are to begin.
It's awful! I don't know what went on yesterday but it seems some kind of bad luck cloud hovered over Atlantic County. There was also a crash yesterday afternoon on the Black Horse Pike near AC that killed a 7 year old and a 3 year old, and also a collision of 2 small planes over Hammonton that killed one pilot.
There has been a large and unnecessary loss of life in that area of NJ over the past 2 days. I just read that a man in a hummer collided with a Taurus, killing two children. The Taurus was packed with eight people! Unnecessarily large cars, combined with disregard of safety, and lack of seatbelt use make for tragic combinations.
Under New Jersey state law, drivers under 18 years old generally are not allowed to carry more than one passenger unless a parent or guardian is in the vehicle. It appears that Brenner may have violated that law as he drove a carload of teammates to meet other players at a restaurant to celebrate the last practice of the summer before scrimmages are to begin.
There really is a reason for this statute, as groups of teenage passengers have a tendency to distract inexperienced teen drivers. And, then of course, we have the tendency of male teen drivers to want to show off for their friends. The more of them in the audience (car), and the more likely it is that the driver will be driving over the speed limit, or too fast for road conditions.
Then, we have the tendency for SUVs, with their high center of gravity, to tip over much more readily than a car when driven at the limits of their traction and/or roadholding ability. And then, if you then throw unbelted passengers into the mix, you have the perfect storm for an accident with fatalities.
While the accident may have been unavoidable if the driver suddenly came upon stopped traffic after rounding a curve or cresting a hill, if the passengers had been properly secured with seat belts, they would have remained in the vehicle and would have had a much greater chance of surviving this collision.
Very sad--in all respects.
Edited to add:
If I have to stop in a travel lane because of road conditions ahead, I always turn on my 4-way emergency flashersimmediately.
This gives drivers coming up fast from the rear a little extra warning that traffic is stopped ahead.
Just having those drivers hit their brake pedal a second or two earlier can make the difference between being hit by them or not being hit by them.
Under New Jersey state law, drivers under 18 years old generally are not allowed to carry more than one passenger unless a parent or guardian is in the vehicle. It appears that Brenner may have violated that law as he drove a carload of teammates to meet other players at a restaurant to celebrate the last practice of the summer before scrimmages are to begin.
A 3rd child died this morning from the crash on the BHP, 11 years old...they were rear-ended by the Hummer, apparently. The Taurus had 8 people in it just like the SUV with the kids on the Parkway, obviously there were not 8 seat belts in the car.
Our dd called us Sat. after this happened, her children are going to Mainland HS next month. This is one of the saddest things I have heard in a very long time. What the heck happened Sat. at the Jersey Shore, so many terrible things happened that afternoon. My husband & I are very familar with the exit the boys were getting off of & there is a very quick turn to exit & has always been a danger. The one thing that disturbs me is that this accident had happened after their practice & were going to the Olde Country Buffet in Mays Landing for lunch. There were 8 kids in the SVU, is it that none of the Coaches who were following them realized that the driver was only 17. His parents knew that he was 17, and as another poster said, there usually aren't 8 seat belts in a car. I guess wrongful death law suits will fall upon the parents of the deceased driver, just so sad & could have been prevented.
Our new State, NC has the most teenage driver fatalities, our kids are speeding down the highway at 16. IMO raise the age in every State to at least 18.
Maybe no trouble for the driver, but there is a chance that the families of the other kids that died can file lawsuits on behalf of their children for wrongful death.
I don't excuse people for breaking the law because they died. You get out on a road, one as busy as the Parkway, and you're putting not only yourself, but everyone else at risk. The law is there for a reason.
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