PARADISE TOWNSHIP -- State police in Monroe County are investigating a car crash that sent three Pocono Mountain East High School students to various hospitals and left two of them in critical condition.
The crash happened Tuesday night on a wooded road near Scotrun.
The remains of a car carrying three Pocono Mountain East Students was cut in half after state police said it crashed on Bush Lane.
Investigators said the driver lost control of the car, swerving out of the lane. The car then hit two pine trees, then a stone pillar, severing the car in half.
At Pocono Mountain East High School, friends said two of the victims are on the football team.
Jeremy Candelario and Franklin Sewell are fellow teammates. Nikolina Kurzatkowska and Ciara Devlin are the team's managers.
“Me and my brother, we heard about it last night. We tried to contact other people on the team and try to see what happened. Then we came to school, people were crying, people were upset, the whole school, the whole aura was just bad,” said Candelario, a junior.
“It was really sad. The school kind of took it hard. Everyone in school was very sad today, and we were all dressed in red to support them, or spirit wear,” said Kurzatkowska, a freshman.
Friends said one of victims is Steve Dienno who plays quarterback. Dienno remains listed in critical condition at the hospital.
Friends said the second victim is Justin Bullock who police said also went to the hospital in critical condition.
Police said the third victim is Michael Kenosky who was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.
“We're like one big family; altogether, we all support each other. We're all devastated about the crash. That's why we're all in our school colors today, actually kids organized that,” said Devlin who is a freshman.
“We lost leaders, leaders, especially “Bull” and Steve. They're two leaders on the team. We really loved them. We're praying for their families, and just pray for them, please, anybody,” said Sewell, a sophomore.