![Two Women Killed in Pittsgrove, NJ School Bus Crash Were Friends](https://townsquare.media/site/397/files/2021/10/attachment-two-women-facebook.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Two Women Killed in Pittsgrove, NJ School Bus Crash Were Friends
As a school community took time to mourn and remember the school bus driver who was killed in a three-vehicle crash in Pittsgrove, Salem County on Friday, families of the two women who died in the crash Friday made it known that the ladies had been close friends.
Denise Powell, 60, was both a cafeteria worker and a school bus driver, according to Olivet School officials. She was involved in a multi-vehicle crash Friday that proved fatal for one other woman as well. That person was identified as 70-year-old Pearl Caudill.
Matthew Carey, the Superintendent of the Pittsgrove School District, released a statement saying Denise Powell would be truly missed.
"Please keep Mrs. Powell’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. Mrs. Powell was a beloved member of our district for over 20 years. She served as a bus driver and cafeteria worker. The children loved her and her colleagues did as well. She passed serving the school community, Denise Powell is a hero."
In a strange twist of fate, Denise Powell and Pearl Caudill not only knew each other, but their families also described the women as close friends. Denise Powell posted a photo of the two women together on her Facebook page in September.
NBC10 News spoke with Lauren Dinger, Pearl Caudill's granddaughter, who said, "Miss Denise and my grandmother knew each other on a close personal level, Birthdays, holidays, baby showers, they were together, yeah."
Funeral services for Denise Powell are planned for Thursday, Oct. 21. No information was available concerning the funeral services of Pearl Caudill.
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