CRANFORD -- Homicide investigators are asking residents for evidence after two teenage girls were killed Monday afternoon in an e-bike crash with a Jeep.
Police are hoping to find security video that captured the Jeep in the moments before the crash.
The girls, both students at Cranford High School, were struck on Burnside Avenue around 5:25 p.m. while riding an e-bike. They were hit by a 2021 black Jeep Compass Utility 4D Altitude 4WD with tinted windows, according to Union County Prosecutor William Daniel.
The driver ran from the Jeep on foot but was found and taken into custody. The two girls were pronounced dead at the hospital. The identities of those involved in the crash have not been disclosed.
Daniel is asking residents and anyone in the area of Hillcrest Avenue, Burnside Avenue, and Lincoln Avenue in Cranford to check home surveillance cameras or dash cameras for footage showing the Jeep.
Anyone with information about the crash, including photos and video should call 908-654-TIPS (8477) or online at uctip.org. Information that leads to an arrest and indictment is eligible for a $10,000 reward from Union County Crime Stoppers.
Cranford mourned the loss of the two teens, with flowers being left on the curb near the crash scene.
Neighbors told ABC 7 Eyewitness News that the girls are best friends. Fox 5 New York identified them as "Maria and Isabela."
A GoFundMe campaign has been created to assist the family of one of the victims.
"Our hearts are broken with this sudden and senseless loss of two beautiful young lives," campaign creator Tiffany Pinero wrote.
Cranford Family Care is also accepting monetary donations for both families at their website cranfordfamilycare.com.