A Service of Remembrance is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at De Sales Hall auditorium, 492 North Franklin Turnpike in Ramsey. Watch video
RAMSEY - A service was planned at Don Bosco Prep Tuesday for two former students - both standout athletes - who were killed in a car crash this week.
Sam Cali and Leo Vagias, both 19 and of Towaco, died when the Lexus they were traveling in went off Route 287 and overturned in the woods, authorities said.
Cali was ejected from the vehicle. Vagias, who was driving, was not ejected and was wearing his seatbelt, authorities said Tuesday.
Their bodies were found about 9:17 a.m. Monday in the woods near I-287 southbound in Mahwah.
"We are investigating whether or not speed was a factor," N.J. State Police Sgt. Jeff Flynn said Tuesday.
Flynn added that police were also looking at whether the car may have had mechanical issues and whether wildlife in the road may have contributed to the crash.
A Service of Remembrance is open to the public and set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at De Sales Hall auditorium, 492 North Franklin Turnpike in Ramsey.
"We are heartbroken by the tragic death of our former students, Sam Cali and Leo Vagias," Don Bosco Prep Principal John Stanczak said in a statement.
"They were gifted student athletes, whose great promise was yet unrealized. Each had a passion for making the community around them better, and did so with love and happiness," Stanczak said.
The school is offering grief counseling to anyone affected by the deaths.
Vagias was a freshman placekicker at the University of Rhode Island. Cali redshirted this season as a freshman on the Rutgers University wrestling team.
Both men graduated from Don Bosco in 2015.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.