Funeral Tragedy

Mourners on the way to the funeral of a meningitis victim were involved in a deadly accident.

The chain-reaction crash took place around 10 a.m. Thursday morning on Route 206 near Route 30 in Hammonton.

It has been a tough week for the town. Three days ago, 5-year-old Vinny Milazzo, who was in kindergarten at the Early Childhood Education Center, died of bacterial meningitis, setting off an alarm in the community.

Thursday, four people who were driving to the boy's funeral at St. Anthony's Church were involved in the accident that left one person dead.

"I spoke to the parents this morning at the service. Very, very sad situation. To have this happen right in front adds to the grief of everyone," said Chief Frank Ingem, of the Hammonton police.

According to police, a dump truck apparently hit a car waiting to turn into the church parking lot, causing a chain reaction.

"The large-size dump truck, coming northbound on 206, struck a vehicle from rear. That vehicle struck another vehicle going southbound and then struck a third vehicle, we believe at this time," Ingem said.

Seconds later, the dump truck flipped over and landed on top of one of the cars, killing the female driver inside. Five people, including the truck driver, were transported to the hospital.

The accident is still under investigation.

The preliminary investigation revealed that the dump truck driver possibly didn't see the vehicle in front of him.

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