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Police Investigate Fiery Crash That Killed 2 In Newark

NEWARK, NJ (CBSNewYork) -- Two men are dead in a car crash in the west end section of Newark.

Authorities said New Jersey State Police were pursuing a 1996 Acura on the Garden State Parkway for speeding. After continuing eastbound on 15th Avenue, the car ran a red light, hitting another car, sending that driver to the hospital.

The Acura then became airborne, flipped, struck three parked cars, and then burst into flames.

Two men died at the scene.

Zafir Abdul Rahman, 24, from East Orange was ejected from the vehicle. Passenger Qaadir King of Newark, 29, died inside the burning car. The horrific sequence played out right in front of a church.

"It looked like the results of something you would see in a movie when a bomb goes off," Pastor Jethro Jones of Paradise Baptist Church told CBS 2's Mark Morgan. "The car is almost split in half. It's almost an L-shape. It went airborne. It took down a pole on Bergen Street. It hit another car on Bergen Street."

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office said the crash was under investigation as a fatal car accident, and that police were not in pursuit of the vehicle when it crashed.

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