Community prays for Chesterfield school bus crash victims

BORDENTOWN, N.J. - February 28, 2012

That's how long it will take federal investigators to determine a cause of the crash that killed one student and put several others in the hospital.

However, on Tuesday night, communities surrounding Chesterfield came together for their neighbors.

It's been almost two weeks since a dump truck and school bus collided in Chesterfield killing 11-year-old Isabelle Tezsla and injuring several other Chesterfield elementary students.

"It could happen to anybody and it's really important for all the families in the area to support each other," Bordentown resident Rosemary Burden said.

People filled the pews of Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Bordentown for an interfaith prayer service for hope and healing.

"We want to encourage the faith in God that he will look out for us and the depth of the mystery is too great for any of us really to know," Deacon Thomas Shea said.

Isabelle's sister, Natalie, was released from Cooper Hospital last week.

But her other sister, Sophie, and classmate, Jonathan Zdybel, both remain in critical condition.

"I can't even fathom what their parents are going through, I just pray for quick healing and for God to be on their side and pull them through this," Bordentown resident Barbara Foley said.

Inside the church, there were a few Chesterfield residents, but the majority of the people were from Bordentown.

"When something like this happens it not only hits that town, it hits everybody that's around it," organizer Robert Pecht said.

As so many pray for the injured children, Action News has learned a viewing and funeral for Isabelle Tezsla will be held Friday in Hamilton Square, New Jersey.

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