The single-engine plane crashed into a home on Berkley and Princeton avenues in Colonia around 11 a.m., causing surrounding houses to burst into flames.
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People were at home, going about their day, when tragedy struck.
"It's an emotional thing when you see all this, I was right there, life is precious," neighbor Jerry Bartolino said.
Lindsey Maynard was outside unloading his truck when the plane came down.
"And I heard a roar and I looked up and I saw this thing coming in, like wing up, wing down, and for a little plane he had a pretty wide wingspan, about maybe 100 feet above the house just roaring in and then boom," Maynard said.
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That boom was heard and felt many blocks away. But that didn't stop neighbors from running toward the disaster to help.
"I went running down, I don't know what I thought I was going to do... by the time I got there, everything was ablaze," Maynard said.
They knocked on doors to check on neighbors to make sure they were safe.
Fortunately no one on the ground -- or in any of the homes -- was injured.
Mayor John E. McCormac announced a fundraising effort to help the families impacted by the plane crash and fire.
Woodbridge Township staff will be at the Evergreen Senior Center Wednesday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 8:30 PM and on Saturday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM to accept donations.
Donations in the form of checks payable to the Woodbridge Community Charity Fund and gift cards from established wholesale/retail outlets will be accepted.
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