New Jersey boy found dead after father sets car on fire near Sayreville High School, police say

SAYREVILLE, N.J. — A 9-year-old boy is dead and his father is being treated for injuries after their car was found burned near a school in New Jersey. Investigators believe the man set the car on fire following a domestic dispute.

Authorities from the Middlesex County prosecutor’s office and the Sayreville Police Department say 43-year-old Manuel Rivera survived the blaze and is being treated for his injuries at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

Police responded around 10:45 a.m. Friday to a 911 call for a fire near Sayreville High School. They also received a call about a related domestic dispute from a home on Eisenhower Drive, where a woman told officers Rivera had left the home with their son.

Officers found Rivera on Washington Road near the school. They said he was outside the car with burns to his body and an apparent self-inflicted wound. 

It appeared the car had been doused with gasoline and set on fire, police said. The child’s body was found inside. 

Rivera has been charged with second-degree aggravated arson. Additional charges may be filed, pending the results of the boy’s autopsy report.

Anyone with information or surveillance video of the area is asked to call the Sayreville Police Department at 732- 727-4444 or the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-3289.