SOUTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. (PIX11) — A nonprofit dedicated to serving people with disabilities is in mourning.
Founder and CEO of Community Options, Inc., Robert Stack, announced the loss of three people in a fiery crash that completely shut down Route 1 Northbound all of Friday.
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“Today, Community Options lost three souls to a tragic accident,” Stack said in a video statement. “Our heart goes out to the two people with severe disabilities who we’ve supported and the staff person. Our prayers are with their families and all of their loved ones and we are crestfallen and deeply saddened by this horrific event.”
All three victims were in a Sprinter van on the way to a day program. The crash also involved a tractor-trailer carrying an oversized load and a small SUV. The driver of the truck was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while the driver of the SUV was unhurt.
It happened around 9:30 am Friday at the intersection of Ridge Road.
“All I can say is it’s a terrible tragedy, it’s really a sad day,” said South Brunswick Police Deputy Chief Jim Ryan.
Local, county, and state authorities were working together to investigate the crash, which involved a large fire. The van, which ended up in front of the truck, was virtually unrecognizable.
“Firefighters and EMS people who came out, everyone is traumatized by something like this,” said Ryan.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
Scholz said the cause of the crash “needs to be investigated closely. But we won’t make an accusation until we can prove it.”
His comments follow similar remarks by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock who, according to Reuters, told reporters at a G7 summit: “The fact that we, together with our Lithuanian and Spanish partners, must now seriously ask ourselves whether this was an accident (or) another hybrid incident shows what volatile times we are currently living in, even in the center of Europe.”
On Tuesday, Baerbock added that several recent incidents fit Russia’s pattern of “destabilization and division,” noting that “thousands of propaganda bots, disrupted GPS signals or even a data cable in the Baltic Sea that is cut – those cannot all be coincidences at the same time.”
Meanwhile, Lithuanian authorities downplayed the prospect of nefarious activity, insisting that no evidence pointing to sabotage had yet been uncovered. “Our initial information does not indicate that we need to be investigating more serious actions,” Prosecutor Arturas Urbelis said in a Tuesday statement, according to Reuters.
“We might find signs of activities of other kinds as we investigate,” he added.
The US National Transportation Safety Board is sending its own personnel to assist with the investigation, Reuters reported, alongside representatives from Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Administration.
Footage from a nearby security camera shows the plane descending, before dipping out of view behind a building. Moments later, a large fireball can be seen in the sky rising from behind the building, followed by a plume of black smoke.
Scholz said the cause of the crash “needs to be investigated closely. But we won’t make an accusation until we can prove it.”
His comments follow similar remarks by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock who, according to Reuters, told reporters at a G7 summit: “The fact that we, together with our Lithuanian and Spanish partners, must now seriously ask ourselves whether this was an accident (or) another hybrid incident shows what volatile times we are currently living in, even in the center of Europe.”
On Tuesday, Baerbock added that several recent incidents fit Russia’s pattern of “destabilization and division,” noting that “thousands of propaganda bots, disrupted GPS signals or even a data cabe in the Baltic Seal that is cut – those cannot all be coincidences at the same time.”
Meanwhile, Lithuanian authorities downplayed the prospect of nefarious activity, insisting that no evidence pointing to sabotage had yet been uncovered. “Our initial information does not indicate that we need to be investigating more serious actions,” Prosecutor Arturas Urbelis said in a Tuesday statement, according to Reuters.
“We might find signs of activities of other kinds as we investigate,” he added.
The US National Transportation Safety Board is sending its own personnel to assist with the investigation, Reuters reported, alongside representatives from Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Administration.
Footage from a nearby security camera shows the plane descending, before dipping out of view behind a building. Moments later, a large fireball can be seen in the sky rising from behind the building, followed by a plume of black smoke.
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