Beloved high school coach and wife ID'd as 2 killed in Gloucester County crash
A retired high school coach and his wife are being remembered by those who knew and loved them after they were killed in a crash in Harrison Township on Saturday night.
Thomas Hengel, 72, and his wife, 61-year-old Lisa Hengel, both of Mullica Hill, were killed after their SUV crashed into a house just after 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. The family inside the house was not injured.
“It’s just unfortunate what happened and its horrible for us,” said Mike Misuraco, a neighbor. “My kids and wife, to look across the street and see two empty homes right now, when yesterday morning they were full of life. Now, both lots sit empty.”
Thomas Hengel was a coach at Clearview High School from 1981 until his retirement in 2025, according to Suburban Family Magazine. Hengal was known for coaching the cross country team and coached more than 100 seasons of various sports for the local high school.
Hengel was also inducted into the Gloucester County Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
Former students and players of Coach Hengel have taken to social media to express what he meant to them, with a post from Andrea Eppehimer saying, in part, “Coach Hengel lived and breathed discipline (and Notre Dame football). He showed up, rain or shine, on the good days and the off days, committed to his teams with a consistency that never wavered. He didn’t just teach us how to run; he taught us how to show up for life, no excuses, no shortcuts.”
