2 Killed, 7 Injured In Fiery South Jersey Crash: Police

EGG HARBOR TWP., NJ — Two people were killed, including a pregnant mother, and seven others, including two children, were injured in a fiery crash in the West Atlantic City part of Egg Harbor Township on Friday night, authorities said.

The crash happened around 8 p.m. on July 26 on Black Horse Pike in front of the Oh St. Joseph Hotel, Egg Harbor Township police said in a release.

A 2017 Nissan Sentra was heading west on Black Horse Pike when it drove into the oncoming lanes and struck a 2018 Kia Forte head-on, police said. It was unclear why the car went into the oncoming lanes.

The force of impact pushed the Kia Forte backwards, where it was struck by a 2020 Nissan Sentra that was also heading eastbound, police said.

The 2020 Nissan Sentra went off the road to the left, coming to rest on the westbound side of the road, police said. The Kia Forte stopped in the marsh along the eastbound side of the highway, and the 2017 Nissan Sentra stopped in the eastbound lanes of the highway facing west, police said.

A fourth car, a 2019 Toyota Yaris, was hit by debris thrown from one of the other cars, police said.

After the head-on collision, the 2017 Nissan Sentra burst into flames, police said. Multiple witnesses and other passing drivers stopped to help drag the occupants of the car out before it became fully engulfed by flames, police said.

"We are thankful for those individuals who quickly and selflessly acted," police said.

Killed in the crash were the driver of the Kia Forte, 21-year-old Escarlin Suriel of Atlantic City and an occupant of the 2017 Nissan Sentra, 22-year-old Gabriella Constantino of Pleasantville, police said.

Suriel was also eight months pregnant and the mother of a 4-year-old girl, according to a GoFundMe launched to help her family with funeral costs. Her unborn child also died in the crash, according to the fundraiser.

Two children, one boy and one girl, in the 2017 Nissan Sentra were in critical condition as of Saturday morning, police said. A male passenger in that same car, a 25-year-old Pleasantville man, was taken to AtlantiCare City Division with serious injuries, police said.

A 27-year-old Atlantic City man who was a passenger in the Kia Forte was also hospitalized with serious injuries, according to police. Two occupants of the 2020 Nissan Sentra were hospitalized with minor injuries.

Another man was hospitalized with injuries, police said. He had been helping rescue the occupants of the fiery car, police said. His status is unknown.

The driver of the Toyota Yaris was not injured, police said.

Black Horse Pike was detoured for about 7.5 hours while the crash was being investigated Friday night and is still under investigation with the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.