Three New York Teens on Retreat Killed in Pennsylvania Crash

April 12, 2004
A sport utility vehicle filled with teenage boys on a religious retreat slammed into a tree, killing three and injuring three others, police said.
LAKE HARMONY, Pa. (AP) -- A sport utility vehicle filled with teenage boys on a religious retreat slammed into a tree, killing three and injuring three others, police said.

Police said that the teens were apparently speeding on a private road early Saturday when they failed to negotiate a curve and slammed into a tree.

The survivors, including the driver, were out of the vehicle by the time emergency workers arrived, said Al Klitsch, fire chief of the central Pennsylvania town of Lake Harmony. It was unclear whether they were ejected or had escaped from the burning SUV.

Two of the injured boys, ages 13 and 15, were hospitalized Sunday in critical condition. The third, a 16-year-old believed to be the driver, was in stable condition.

The teens, all from the Long Island area of New York, were part of a group of 160 people who had rented a convention hall at the Split Rock Resort for a religious retreat.

Killed were Omar Abdelmonem Talaat, 14; Moustafa Rabat, 16; and Ahmed Elzanaty, 14, police said.

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