A wrong-way crash on Route 55 in Mantua Township, New Jersey, left two people dead early Thursday morning, police said.
According to New Jersey State Police, troopers responded to a motor vehicle crash at 8:58 a.m. on Route 55 northbound at milepost 51.8.
Police said a preliminary investigation revealed that a Jeep Compass was traveling southbound on State Highway 55 when, at an unknown location, the Jeep crossed into the northbound lanes, traveling in the opposite direction.
A Toyota Rav4 was traveling northbound on State Highway 55 and collided head-on with the Jeep; police said both vehicles overturned, and the Toyota caught fire.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
Police said the driver of the Jeep, Stanley Kahana, 62, from Philadelphia, and the driver of the Toyota, Jennifer Hufnell, 53, from Deptford, New Jersey, sustained fatal injuries.
Officials had shut down Route 55 northbound for hours as they investigated the crash; the highway has since reopened.
The crash remains under investigation, and no further information is available at this time.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Filomena Lakeview, a restaurant in Deptford where Hufnell was employed, put out a heartfelt statement on Facebook regarding her death.
The statement read in part:
"It is with a heavy heart to post this, Jenn Hufnell a part of our Mena Family was killed in a tragic accident today. Words cannot describe how much we will miss her. It is unimaginable that her smiling face and warm heart will no longer brighten the restaurant. We know she has touched many lives and her memory will live with the Filomena Family forever. We love you Jenn."
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
