BELLEVILLE — A man found shot in the head after the car he was driving crashed into a utility pole in Belleville remained in critical condition Friday, officials said.
Two other passengers in the car, a 27-year-old and 19-year-old, were also still hospitalized, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. The remaining two passengers were treated for unspecified injuries and released.
The five Newark residents were riding in a red Pontiac that slammed into a pole on Franklin Avenue, near Mill Street by Branch Brook Park, in the predawn hours Thursday, according to authorities.
A preliminary investigation revealed the Pontiac was in Newark and followed by another vehicle just before the single-car crash and shooting, according to the prosecutor’s office. The exact location of the shooting remained unclear.
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Reached Thursday morning, Belleville Police Chief Mark Minichini confirmed detectives were investigating a shooting in the township. Local police previously said a shooting incident occurred near Newark Avenue and Clara Maass Drive.
In Bloomfield, a police spokesman said reports of shots fired around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday near Newark Avenue and Baldwin Place were the result of gunfire in Belleville. Details on that investigation were not immediately available.
The Belleville shooting came amid an overnight string of separate shootings Thursday in nearby Newark, where one man was killed in the city’s West Ward and four were others were wounded.
Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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