Three Teenagers Killed After Car Collided with Commercial Bus in Pleasantville

ATLANTIC CITY – Three Atlantic County teenagers were killed when the car in which they were passengers collided with a commercial bus yesterday afternoon in Pleasantville, Acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain announced.

On Monday, May 26, at 1:49 p.m., police, fire, and emergency medical services from Pleasantville and surrounding municipalities responded to a crash involving a passenger vehicle and a New Jersey Transit bus on Franklin Boulevard, near the intersection of Old Turnpike Road.

A car driven by Melissa Rodriguez, 18 year-old female, of Pleasantville, was moving northbound on Franklin Boulevard with five (5) passengers, when it crossed the center line and struck the bus moving in the opposite direction in the southbound lane. The operator of the NJ Transit bus was Carmen Mazzagatti, Jr., 69, of Galloway Township. He was transporting eight (8) passengers at the time of the accident.

Two passengers of Rodriguez’s vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene: Tevin Campbell, 18 year-old male, of Absecon, and Kira Strider, 14 year-old female, of Pleasantville.

The driver and three surviving passengers of the car, the bus driver, and several bus passengers, were transported for treatment to the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center—Atlantic City Campus.

A third passenger of Rodriguez’ vehicle, Amber Fernandez, 16 year-old female, of Pleasantville, was pronounced dead at the ACRMC-Intensive Care Unit at 12:08 a.m. this morning.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Collisions Unit and the Pleasantville Police Department are investigating the accident.

Anyone with information pertaining to this crash is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Crash Investigations Unit at 609-909-7667. Witnesses may also contact the Pleasantville Police Department at (609) 641-6100.

Anyone with information involving serious crimes is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-909-7800 or go to the Prosecutor’s Office Web site at http://www.acpo.org/tips.html and provide information by filling out the form anonymously on the Submit a Tip page. People can also call Crime Stoppers at 609-652- 1234 or 1-800-658-8477 (TIPS) or visit the Crime Stoppers Website at http://www.crimestoppersatlantic.com/. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those who commit crimes in Atlantic County.