Third Teen Dies After NJ Transit Bus, Car Collide

A third person has died following the collision involving a New Jersey Transit bus and a car in southern New Jersey Monday, authorities say.

The victims have been identified as Kira Strider, 14, and Amber Fernandez, 16, both of Pleasantville, and Tevin Campbell, 18, of Absecon. They were all passengers in the the car that collided with the bus, according to authorities. 

The car was heading north on Franklin Boulevard in Pleasantville when it swerved for unknown reasons and struck the bus around 1:50 p.m., The Press of Atlantic City reported. The car then flipped around but remained upright.

Five people were in the car, and four of them were taken to the hospital, including the driver. The condition of the fourth person taken to the hospital wasn't immediately clear Tuesday.

NJ Transit spokesman John Durso Jr. said that the bus driver and two passengers suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening. About 10 people were aboard the bus, which Durso said had departed from the Atlantic City bus terminal and was headed to a mall in Mays Landing.

Witnesses said the car appeared to be speeding, and Pleasantville police said the driver of the southbound bus tried to avoid a head-on collision. The car scraped along the driver's side of the bus and spun around, while the bus wound up on the sidewalk, barely avoiding a utility pole.

The four-door compact car had severe front-end damage.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

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