3rd Teen Dies Of Injuries In Fiery Crash In Ocean County

JACKSON, NJ — A fiery crash that claimed the lives of two teenagers on Friday has resulted in the death of a third person in the vehicle, Jackson police confirmed Tuesday.

Rafael Faham was the third teen in the vehicle to die, Jackson Police Chief Michael Kunz said. He identified the two who died at the scene of the crash as Dovid Yitzchok Handler and Chaim Zelig Beril.

All three were yeshiva students, JFeed, a Jewish news site, reported. Faham died Saturday after 18 hours in intensive care, the site said.

Two others who were in the vehicle remain hospitalized.

The crash on North Hope Chapel Road was reported at 4:39 a.m. by a motorist who came upon the scene, police have said.

Investigators determined a deer ran in front of the vehicle, which JFeed reported was a Toyota Sienna minivan. The deer caused the driver to lose control and hit a tree and the damage caused the minivan to catch fire, police said.

Officers arrived to find the minivan fully engulfed in flames with four of the teens trapped inside because of the damage to the vehicle and the severity of their injuries, police said. Officers forced their way in and were able to rescue two of the teens. The fifth teen had been able to escape from the minivan and was found lying on the ground nearby, police said.

One of the teens died during the collision and the second died in the fire that resulted from the crash, police said.