3 siblings die after car crashes into toll plaza on Atlantic City Expressway
3 siblings die after car crashes into toll plaza on Atlantic City Expressway
The passengers in the vehicle were identified by police as Reachthon "Tony" Khiev, 31, of Manchester, NH, Reachsieh "Johnny" Khiev, 27, of Manchester, NH, and Keotepie "Keo" Khiev, 14, of Atlantic City, NJ, a ninth grader at Atlantic City High School.
HAMMONTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. - Three siblings have died as a result of a fiery crash on the Atlantic City Expressway on Sunday night, according to a close family friend.
Their 12-year-old sister, also a passenger, miraculously survived.The crash happened at 9:09 p.m. on the eastbound lanes of the Expressway at the Egg Harbor Toll Plaza in Hammonton Township.
Police say their Honda struck the tollbooth and became fully engulfed in flames."Full speed just ran right into the toll booth and immediately exploded," says Cindy Winer, who witnessed the crash. "It was horrific, horrific."
The passengers in the vehicle were identified by police as Reachthon "Tony" Khiev, 31, of Manchester, NH, Reachsieh "Johnny" Khiev, 27, of Manchester, NH, and Keotepie "Keo" Khiev, 14, of Atlantic City, NJ, a ninth grader at Atlantic City High School.
A close family friend, Jimmy Giang, says the brothers surprised their sisters in Atlantic City for Christmas. They have two other siblings who were not involved in the crash.
The four were in South Philadelphia visiting Giang and his family. They went to the King of Prussia Mall and went out to dinner. Giang says when he could not get ahold of the family later on Sunday night, he started to drive to Atlantic City.
"It was just hard to believe, we just didn’t believe it," he said.
A local pastor, Wil Del Valle, says he saw the flames and pulled over on the westbound side of the plaza, crossed two medians, and convinced the 12-year-old girl to come to him instead of walking back towards the fiery car. She kept saying her siblings were still inside the burning car.
"The smart thing to do was get her out of there and as I put her in my arms, it blew again," says Del Valle, who witnessed the car explode multiple times.
Del Valle, his wife and a toll booth attendant waited with the girl until an ambulance came. She told them her brother fell asleep at the wheel.
"We prayed for her and we prayed over her and I promised her, ‘Hey, I will talk to you again, and we said our goodbyes,’" says Del Valle. "This is what we should be doing for people."
The accident remains under investigation. The brothers killed in the crash were the only ones financially earning and supporting the family of nine.
A GoFundMe was set up to help with funeral expenses. If you wish to donate, please click here.
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