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Update: Authorities Identify Pedestrians Struck, Killed by Police in Ridgefield

Ridgefield New Jersey

Police identified this morning fatalities as two New York men killed on the New Jersey Turnpike by a Washington Township Police car.

Jason Champion, 41, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Nuwnah Laroche, 34, of East Elmhurst, N.Y., were heading south on the turnpike when their vehicle became disabled at approximately 1 a.m.

Both men were struck and killed near mile post 115 by a police car.

Champion and Laroche were pronounced dead at 4:33 a.m., police said.

The Washington Township Police Officer involved in the crash was identified as Arsenio Pecora, 44. The officer suffered minor injuries, according to police.   According to reports, Pecora was returning from a training at Fort Dix.

Related story: Fatal Injuries for Two Pedestrians Struck by Police Car on the NJ Turnpike in Ridgefield

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