What to Know
- A grand jury has indicted a driver involved in a fiery car crash on railroad tracks in Rockland County on Oct. 13, 2019
- Witnesses say the vehicle fell from Route 304 overpass between Woodcliff Lake and Nanuet; The crash killed two people, including a high school student
Nearly a year after a fiery car crash on railroad tracks in Rockland County killed two teenagers, a driver has been indicted by a grand jury.
Prosecutors say Jason Castro, 44, of Nanuet was indicted with manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges for his involvement in the Oct. 13, 2019, incident where Castro allegedly crashed into another vehicle on Route 304. The impact sent the car carrying three passengers flying down from an overpass above NJ Transit tracks between Woodcliff Lake and Nanue, killing 17-year-old Altin Nezaj and 15-year-old Sanih Cekic in a fiery wreck.
Castro did not suffer any injuries in the incident.
“The indictment of Mr. Castro will hopefully allow the grieving families a sense of closure and that it continues the healing process for our community. Our prayers remain with the families of all involved in this devastating loss of life," said Rockland County District Attorney’s Office.
Officials did not provide more details of the horrific collision that shut down rail service in the area year but 17-year-old Aisha Radoncic was the driver and she had her cousin, Cekic, and Pearl River School District student Nezaj in the vehicle, according to school officials and Orangetown police.
Radoncic was charged earlier this year with criminally negligent homicide, LoHud reported. Radoncic's father said she suffered minor injuries, but the pain she feels is in her heart, knowing her younger cousin did not survive.
Local
Locals call the area of the crash, known for serious accidents, as the "dead man's curve." At the time of the incident, a number of neighbors in the area grabbed home fire extinguishers to try and put out the flames while others tried prying open the passenger doors to help the man and woman inside, witnesses say.
"When I got there I heard this girl screaming," said Joe Geppner, one of the witnesses who tried to put out the fire.
