5 New Jersey Residents, Including 2 Children, Killed In SC Plane Crash

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC — Five New Jersey residents, including two children, died over the weekend in a South Carolina plane crash, according to authorities.

The incident occurred shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday in North Myrtle Beach, authorities said.

Among the dead are the pilot, 66-year-old Joseph Farnese of Caldwell; as well as 32-year-old Tanique Cheu and her son, 7-year-old Sean Gardner, both of East Orange; and 17-year-old Odaycia Edwards and their mother, 42-year-old Suzette Coleman-Edwards, also both of East Orange, according to the Horry County Coroner’s Office, which identified the victims Wednesday night.

The plane was leaving the Grand Strand Airport when it crashed in a wooded area near a golf course at Barefoot Resort, The Sun News reported.

The Piper PA-32R-300 went down one minute after taking off, according to authorities. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

Four of the victims died at the scene of traumatic and thermal injuries, while Coleman-Edwards died just over an hour later at a hospital, according to the coroner’s office.