HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Authorities say a central New Jersey man who they initially thought was savagely beaten to death in a park was actually killed in an all-terrain vehicle crash.

And some of the victim’s friends who were with him when he died may soon be facing charges because they apparently tried to cover up the accident.

The body of 26-year-old Luis Resto of Trenton was found Monday by two bicyclists in the Delaware and Raritan Canal state park in Hamilton Township (Mercer County). Authorities say he had sustained blunt force trauma to the head and face.

But after further investigation, it was learned that Resto and some friends had been riding ATV’s in the area when he apparently lost control of his speeding vehicle and it slammed into a tree.

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