High school track coach and wife killed in fiery crash into home in Harrison Township, New Jersey
Police have identified the two people killed when their car crashed into a Harrison Township, New Jersey, home Saturday night, sparking a fire.
Driver Thomas Hengel, 72, and his passenger, 61-year-old Lisa Hengel, both of Mullica Hill, were killed in the crash on Banff Drive in Mullica Hill, the Harrison Township Police Department said in a news release.
Thomas Hengel was a track and cross-country coach within the Clearview Regional School District, according to teachers in the district. He was inducted into the Gloucester County Sports Hall of Fame in 2018, according to a social media post by the organization. He was known as a "legendary Clearview Regional boys and girls cross country and track coach" who also coached several other sports in the district for 94 combined seasons.
Around 6:17 p.m., police were dispatched to Banff Drive after Hengel's 2020 Hyundai Palisade SUV quickly accelerated for an unknown reason, hit a curb and drove across two front yards and through the exterior wall of a home.
The crash put the Hyundai in the living room of the home that was struck, and sparked a fire that engulfed the SUV and the home, police said.
No one inside the house was injured.
The crash remains under investigation by Harrison Township police and the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office.
Community remembers beloved neighbors
Members of the community say Thomas Hengel coached for decades and shaped generations of student-athletes.
Cassandra Kulik, a former state champion, credits every athletic achievement to her coach.
"He was like a father figure to me," Kulik said.
Though the Hengels never had children of their own, former athletes say Coach Tom filled that role for many.
Molly Mahoney, another Clearview runner, said the coach was "a second dad" for her, and his influence helped steer her life in a new direction.
"I wanted to be just like him. I wanted to be a track coach and a teacher because of the monumental impact that he put on my life," Mahoney said.
Kulik remembered a chance her class had to thank both of the Hengels.
"My senior year, we decided to use all of our money for a gift card for him to take his wife out because we know she just did the same amount of time of years, and all those hours that he did," Kulik said.
In a statement, Clearview Regional School District Superintendent John Horchak III said, in part, "As a 33-year educator and over 40-year coach, Tom exemplified what it means to serve students beyond the classroom. Anyone who knew Tom knows his dedication to his former students and his past/current student-athletes."
Gary Devine was out shoveling Monday and had tears in his eyes, recalling the traumatic events of Saturday. Tom and Lisa Hengel lived just across the street.
Devine shared videos of the fiery crash aftermath with CBS News Philadelphia. He said he got a text from a friend asking if he was OK.
"Is your house on fire?" Devine recalled. "He said there is a fire at 9 Banff. Well, I'm at 8. My wife and I ran out. We saw the trucks and police. That corner house was on fire. The vehicle was half in there. … He was always working on his yard, doing his own snow."
Friends say Lisa Hengel spent more than 30 years designing landscapes across South Jersey and tended to a beautiful garden at her home. Neighbors say the couple poured the same care into their community.
"They were amazing neighbors, they were really good," Mike Misuraco, who lives across the street, said. "They loved each other."
As the Hengel family prepares to lay their loved ones to rest, community members are rallying around the family who lives in the home where the crash happened, raising money for them as they figure out where they'll live next.
