Published: Monday, June 06, 2011, 7:44 PM Updated: Tuesday, June 07, 2011, 7:58 AM

NEWARK — Three men face charges in a fatal car crash in Newark that began when a motorist flashed his high beams at a car blocking the road.

Moments later, the driver was met with a burst of gunfire from the other vehicle, leading to a brief car chase that ended in a crash killing the driver of a third vehicle, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said.

The dead motorist, identified today as 38-year-old Terron Covin, was not involved in the initial incident, the prosecutor’s office said. But investigators are looking into whether Covin, who had Irvington and West Orange addresses, knew any who were involved.

Two of the three men in the double-parked car, who are father and son, were charged but suffered serious injuries and remain at University Hospital in Newark, the prosecutor’s office said. They are: Gary Cook Sr., 44, and his son, Gary Cook Jr., 24, who was in the front passenger seat. Lamar Baker, 27, who was in the back seat, was not hurt. The three, all of Newark, face aggravated assault and weapons offenses.

The driver who flashed his high beams and then fled the gunfire, suffered minor injuries in the accident. Authorities did not identify him.

The incident began along Varsity Road by Lenox Street just before 4 a.m., when the unnamed driver flashed his high beams at Gary Cook’s car, signalling for him to move out of the way, said Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly.

Moments later, someone in Cook’s vehicle pulled a gun and opened fire on the motorist, who sped off. Cook gave chase until colliding with the other vehicle and Covin’s car on Sanford and Marion avenues, the prosecutor’s office said.

Authorities urge anyone with information about the incident to call the prosecutor’s office at (877) 847-7432 or the Newark Police at (877) 695-8477. All calls remain confidential.

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