Both teens are football players at Notre Dame and live in Florence, officials said.
TRENTON -- The two teenagers involved in a three-vehicle crash on Route 129 in Trenton early Thursday morning were Notre Dame High School students on their way to the Lawrence school, officials said.
The students were the driver and passenger in the northbound sport-utility vehicle that clipped a curb and crossed into the southbound lanes of the Route 129, where it collided with two southbound vehicles.
The driver, a 17-year-old, suffered a minor injury.
His passenger, a 16-year-old, was pinned in the overturned vehicle and remained in critical condition Thursday evening at Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, where he underwent emergency surgery after the crash.
Both teens are football players at Notre Dame and live in Florence, officials said.
The school and authorities had not publicly named the teens as of Thursday evening.
"The Notre Dame Family continues to pray for all those involved in the accident this morning," Notre Dame Principal MaryLiz Ivins said in a statement.
"My thoughts and my prayers are with the kids and their families," Notre Dame Athletic Director Richard Roche said Thursday evening.
"Like everybody else, we've been praying all day," Roche said. "We're hoping for the best."Roche described the students as "great kids from great families."
MORE: 3-car crash traps 1 on Route 129 in Trenton
The collision occurred at about 7:30 a.m. in the southbound lanes of the state highway just before Cass Street.
The 17-year-old driver's car apparently hit a curb and entered the southbound traffic, colliding with two other vehicles and flipping over, Trenton police said.
The vehicle briefly caught fire, but extinguished itself.
The 16-year-old passenger was trapped in the overturned vehicle and Trenton firefighters were able to free him 10 minutes after arriving at the scene, the fire department said.
The other vehicles were also sport-utility vehicles.
A 37-year-old woman and her 11-year-old daughter were in one vehicle and a 36-year-old man from Howell was in another.
All three were taken to the Trenton hospital and were treated and released.
The accident is being investigated by Trenton police and the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
