Dead child found in burning car near New Jersey high school

A child is dead, found in a torched vehicle near a New Jersey high school, and a man is charged with arson, authorities said Friday.

Cops initially received a 911 call about a fire near Sayreville High School around 10:45 p.m. Thursday. As they were responding, another call came in reporting a related domestic dispute. Police responded to Eisenhower Drive, where they encountered a woman who said a domestic dispute led to Manuel Rivera, 43, leaving the home with their son.

Authorities found Rivera alive, but with burns to his body and a self-inflicted wound at Washington Road, near the back of Sayreville High School, officials say. Next to him was a vehicle on fire; it had been doused in gasoline.

Rivera was taken to a hospital for treatment of his injuries. A preliminary investigation revealed the body of a child in the burned-out vehicle. Prosecutors haven’t definitively identified the body as that of the 9-year-old at this time.

Rivera has been charged with second-degree aggravated arson. Additional charges are pending to autopsy report from the Middlesex County medical examiner’s office. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sayreville Police Department at 732-727-444 or the Middlesex County prosecutor’s office at 732-745-3289.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Rivera had an attorney who could comment on the arson allegation.