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Shahriyar Ahmed and Shakeel Ali, both 19 of Paterson, were killed in the collision in front of Gaita Memorial Funeral Home on Newark Pompton (Route 23) in Little Falls shortly after 10:30 p.m. Friday.
Both were passengers in a Mercedes C300 sedan with three other people that was T-boned by a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Jason Zaitoun, 18, of Wayne, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Deputy Chief Brian Prall said Saturday.
The impact knocked the Mercedes onto the funeral home’s lawn and smashed in the front of the Jeep. Extrications were required, responders said.
Ahmed was pronounced dead at the scene and Ali at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson roughly an hour later.
Both excelled academically at the Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne and went on to attend premiere colleages. Coincidentally, Zaitoun attended Passaic County Tech, where he threw the discus and the javelin for the track and field team.
Zaitoun and the remaining three occupants of the sedan were all hospitalized with injuries that didn’t immediately appear life-threatening.
Various police, firefighters and EMS responders from Cedar Grove, North Caldwell, Woodland Park and Wayne assisted their Little Falls colleagues.
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