Crash claims the life of South Jersey high school student
Action News has learned that two Arthur P. Schalick High School students were inside a vehicle when it crashed on Tuesday.
PITTSGROVE TWP., New Jersey (WPVI) -- New Jersey State Police are investigating a crash that claimed the life of one high school student and injured another Tuesday night.
It happened around 6 a.m. Wednesday at Deer Pen Park in Pittsgrove Township, Salem County.
Action News has learned that two Arthur P. Schalick High School students were inside a vehicle when it crashed.
"Everyone loved him, that's the main thing that hit hard," said senior Michael Donovan, of the teenage victim who lost his life.
Police say a preliminary investigation has revealed that the driver failed to stop at a stop sign, traveled across Rt. 553 and crashed into a tree in the middle of the park.
Debris from the car can still be found at the scene along with char marks, indicating some type of fire may have sparked from the impact of the crash.
The teenage male passenger was killed, the teenage male driver remains hospitalized in unknown condition.
According to a community Facebook post, the student who died was a sophomore and the injured student is a senior. Neither student has been identified by police.
This is the second tragedy to hit the local high school recently. Several weeks ago, a Schalick student was hit and killed while riding his bicycle.
"We're all kind of helping each other out, picking each other up, doing the best we can. It's a small school, not many kids go here. We're all close-knit," said Donovan. "We just got to do our best to help each other."
Classes at the school were canceled Wednesday morning.
The crash remains under investigation.
