UPDATE: Victims Struck And Killed By Cop Car Identified

A Washington Township police officer struck and killed two New York residents with his patrol car as they were walking on the New Jersey Turnpike on Wednesday.

According to a statement from the New Jersey State Police, Jason Champion, 41, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Nuwnah Laroche, 34, of East Elmhurst, N.Y., were traveling in a 2001 Cadillac Escalade when it became disabled on the southbound side of the roadway.

Around 1:06 a.m., as the pair were walking in the left lane of the eastern spur in Secaucus near the Vince Lombardi service area, Washington Township Police Officer Officer Arsenio Pecora, 46, struck them with his patrol car.

According to the Washington Township Police Department of Bergen County, Pecora was returning from training at Fort Dix at the time of the accident.

The victims were pronounced deceased on scene at 4:33 a.m., via telemetry.

The left and center lanes of the roadway were shut down while authorities investigated.

A spokesman for the state police declined to comment on the reason the two were in the roadway, citing an ongoing investigation. However, he told Patch that the victims were inside the lane marker of the roadway when they were struck.

The New Jersey State Police Fatal Accident Unit, Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and personnel from Newark Station, are looking into the cause and circumstances of the crash.

Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.

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