Three staffers from Wayne County summer camps died early Thursday morning in a crash that sent their minivan plunging into a drainage pond near Lake Como in Preston Township.
The Wayne County Coroner’s Office declared Ana Victoria Rojas Lopez, 23, Diego Rivera Medrano, 22, and Ariel Jersam Galaviz Alvarez, 21, all of Mexico, dead following the crash.
A man and woman in the vehicle were injured.
All five were support staff preparing Camp Shoshanim and Camp Nesher, near Lakewood, for the summer before campers and counselors arrived in June, according to a statement from the Modern Orthodox Judaism camps.
According to the camps’ statement: “Apparently, the staff had used a camp van for personal reasons without authorization. We are working with the authorities to clarify details surrounding the accident and we are focusing on contacting the families of the staff involved in this very sad event.”
State police at Honesdale are investigating. Alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, which occurred about 12:50 a.m. at Como Road and Stockport Turnpike.
It is believed the driver, who died, was driving too fast and lost control of the minivan. Edward Howell, Wayne County coroner, said in a statement that he arrived on the scene at 2:15 a.m. and pronounced the three dead, calling it “a multiple-death tragedy.”
Autopsies are scheduled for 9 a.m. today.
The two survivors are being treated at Wayne Memorial Hospital and Geisinger Community Medical Center.
The camps’ website said that campers and staff come from around the nation and world seeking to give attendees exposure to different cultures and people. The camps are operated by New Jersey YMHA-YWHA Camps.