Twenty-four-year-old Zafir Abdul Rahman of East Orange and a passenger, 29-year-old Qaadir King of Newark, were pronounced dead at the scene. Prosecutors say their vehicle collided with another car around 2 a.m., then struck three other parked cars and burst into flames before flipping over.
State police had chased the vehicle on the Garden State Parkway, but the pursuit had ended shortly after the vehicle left the highway at northbound exit 144. Authorities don't know why Rahman refused to stop for police, adding that the vehicle wasn't stolen.
The driver of the other car was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.
