A 4-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man were killed and four others were hurt after they were thrown from a pickup truck as it overturned along the Atlantic City Expressway in South Jersey on Friday.
Police say 45-year-old Roselyn Kornegay was driving a white Ford truck in the westbound lanes of the highway near mile marker 22.7 around 7:10 a.m. in Hamilton Township, New Jersey.
According to investigators, 35-year-old James Dennis and a 4-year-old child were passengers in the cab. They also say 19-year-old Brian Gregory, 18-year-old Shaniqua Abrams and 9-year-old Dion Kornegay were sitting in the bed of the truck.
Kornegay somehow lost control of the vehicle while driving and struck a guardrail. The truck then flipped over, and all six people were thrown out onto the road.
PHOTO: Debris is strewn across the westbound lanes of the Atlantic City Expressway after this pickup truck overturned -- ejecting six people including two children.
"A child was lying on the right side of the road, being helped by a driver from the car in front of me," said one witness, who did not want to be identified. "There was a woman lying in the road on the left and other people lying in the middle of the highway. There were clothes and lots and lots of beer cans and it was a horrible mess."
Dennis was killed in the crash, police say. Kornegay and the 4-year-old child were flown by medical helicopter to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey. The 4-year-old boy, who has not yet been identified, died from his injuries shortly after 3:30 p.m. Kornegay remains in critical condition.
Gregory, Abrams and Dion Kornegay were taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center -- two by ambulance and another by helicopter. They all suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Police also say all of the victims are from Philadelphia. They don't believe anyone in the truck was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.
"Being that all six passengers were ejected from the vehicle, it's safe to say they were not wearing their safety belts," said New Jersey State Police Sergeant Monica Nuhfer. "The fact that the child wasn't even in a seat belt is absolutely violating the law and the safety of the child."
Officials shut down the westbound lanes of the highway for several hours -- diverting traffic east of the scene. The roadway was partially reopened around 11 a.m.
Police continue to investigate the cause of the crash.
