COOLBAUGH TOWNSHIP -- Police said a boy was killed and five others were hurt after a Sunday night crash in Monroe County.
According to authorities, a car and SUV crashed on Route 196, near Echo Lake Road, near Tobyhanna after 11 p.m.
Police said five people were rushed to the hospital. The coroner said Justin Curry, 15, of A Pocono Country Place development was killed. He was a student at Pocono Mountain West High School.
Pastor James McFadden saw the crash scene as he was walking his dog outside his home near the crash.
"I was sad to hear that somebody would lose somebody around the holiday season,” said Pastor McFadden.
"I can only imagine me losing my mother just last year and not having her here,” added Sabrina McFadden. “I can share that pain.”
Pastor McFadden says he's helped many people cope with loss. He and his wife have a message for Justin Curry's loved ones.
"Find comfort in each other. Try to uphold each other. do what the child would want you to do and that's move on."
"Keep that child's memory alive,” Sabrina McFadden said. “Think about all the good times and feed on that because that's what I feed on, too, to keep the memory of my mother alive."
A spokesperson for Pocono Mountain West High School issued a statement:
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Curry family during this terrible tragedy. We feel the best place for our grieving students and staff right now is with their families.
“We will be ready to provide grief counseling to our students and staff when they return to school from the winter break.”
The Monroe County coroner says Justin Curry was a passenger in the back seat of the car that crashed and he was not wearing a seat belt.