Deadly N.J. Thanksgiving Weekend: 8 Die, 22 Injured

Eight people died and at least 22 others were injured in a series of incidents - some violent - in New Jersey on a deadly Thanksgiving weekend, according to authorities.

One involved a shooting at a mall that left at least one dead. another involved a train and several died on New Jersey highways.

Here is what happened:

• At least five people were hurt when as many eight cars crashed on New Jersey Turnpike southbound around 5 a.m. Sunday, police said. Four people, meanwhile, were seriously hurt on Route 55 southbound Saturday afternoon, police said. Read more here...
• A person was struck and killed by an Amtrak train in Edison Sunday night, Amtrak officials told Patch. The person was on the tracks near the Edison train station and was hit by the Amtrak Train 2262 at 7:20 p.m., Craig Schulz, an Amtrak spokesperson, told Patch. Read more here...
• A 20-year-old man was killed and his brother was injured in a shooting in the parking lot of of a mall in South Jersey, authorities announced Friday morning. Hamilton Township Police found a 20-year-old Atlantic City man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds while responding to reports of a shooting outside the Macy’s at the Hamilton Mall in Atlantic County around 1:05 a.m. Read more here...
• A 54-year-old North Jersey man was stabbed to death by his wife early Thanksgiving morning, according to authorities. The incident happened at 783 John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Bayonne, and the man was then transported to the Bayonne Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 12:35 a.m., according to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. Read more here....
• Two people were killed and two more were injured in a fatal crash in Winslow Township on Thanksgiving Day, according to police. A 2003 Chevrolet Malibu collided head-on with a 2014 Honda Civic after crossing over the center line into the eastbound lane of Williamstown Road just before 7:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Read more here...
• One person was killed in a motor vehicle crash Thursday afternoon at the intersection of Queen Anne Road and Degraw Avenue, police said. The victim's vehicle was heading south on Queen Anne Road when it hit a car heading west on Degraw Avenue. Two other people involved in the crash were taken to a nearby hospital, police said. Read more here...
• A woman and her 9-year-old son were shot at their home in South Jersey, and the man suspected of shooting them was found dead, police said early Friday afternoon. Melissa Cakmak, 41, of Monroe Township, and her son were taken to Cooper Medical Center in Camden for treatment and are expected to survive, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office said. She was wounded in the torso, and he had a graze wound to the hand. Read more here...
• A Maryland man was shot and robbed early Thanksgiving morning when he went to a Lakewood condominium to collect payment after DJing an event in Howell, police said. Lakewood Police Officer Vincent Wittman was called to Monmouth Medical Center's Southern Campus (formerly Kimball Medical Center) for a report of a gunshot victim who was dropped off, Detective Lt. Gregory Staffordsmith said. Read more here...
• Five people - including two Lacey Township police officers - were treated for smoke inhalation after a fire ripped through a ranch home on Serpentine Drive shortly after midnight, Detective Lt. Chris Cornelius said. Patrolman Anthony Sarno and two Forked River firefighters broke a window in the attached garage and pulled the 81-year-old owner to safety through a garage window, he said. Read more here...
• Morristown police said they arrested a 25-year-old township man for driving his vehicle into a police car while drunk. At around 3:40 p.m. Wednesday, a 2005 Jeep driven by Sean Aussem crashed into a marked police vehicle on the northbound side of West Park Place, according to Lt. Stuart Greer. As a result, Officer Richard Rispoli suffered minor injuries and was transported to Morristown Medical Center for evaluation, Greer said. Read more here...
• An 82-year-old man was seriously injured in an apartment fire over the weekend, the Middletown Police and Fire departments said in a statement. The fire broke out at the Shadow Lake Village 55 and older community late Saturday afternoon, just before 4 p.m. Read more here...
• A fugitive was captured following a police chase that began in Voorhees, ended in Evesham and reportedly included a car explosion on Sunday. James C. Fitzpatrick Jr., 46, of Beverly, was charged with eluding, resisting by flight, obstruction, providing false information and numerous traffic violations, Voorhees Police announced Monday morning. Read more here...
• Authorities are conducting an investigation after a prisoner died while in custody at Northern State Prison in Newark last weekend. A spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Corrections confirmed that authorities found a male inmate lifeless in his cell around 9 p.m. on Saturday and pronounced him dead about 30 minutes later. Read more here...

Photo of shooting site at Hamilton Mall, courtesy of NBC10 Philadelphia