Three Young Women Die In Horrific New Jersey Crash After Their Car Rear-Ends Tractor Trailer
Three young women in New Jersey have lost their lives after a tragic car accident where the vehicle they were in rear-ended a tractor-trailer.
According to Sergeant Philip Agosta of the Woodbridge Police, Brianna Martinez, 23, was driving a Nissan Altima on Route 1 near Ford Avenue when the car struck the tractor-trailer as the truck was pulling away from a stoplight at around 11:50 pm on Friday (Dec. 20), the New York Post reports.
Both passengers, Mikayla Powell, 23, and Uchechukw Chukwuma, 24, were pronounced dead at the scene, the New York Post reports.
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Martinez was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital where she died, the New York Post reports.
“This is a tragic accident,” Sgt. Agosta said, the New York Post reports.
There are no witnesses at this time as police are trying to determine what led to the crash, the New York Post reports.
Police say the truck driver stayed at the scene, News 12 reports.
Police have not confirmed the speed the car was going at the time of the crash, News 12 reports.
Martinez and Chukwuma were both 2014 graduates of Franklin High School in Somerset, NJ, and all the victims are from the Somerset area, the New York Post reports.
ABC 7 reports, Nancy LaCorte, president of the Franklin Board of Education said, “Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and friends of these young women.”
New Jersey Assemblyman Joseph Danielson wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday (Dec. 21), ABC 7 reports, “Our hearts are broken. Please keep them and their families in your thoughts and prayers.”
One woman wrote on Facebook that it was “Uche’s 24th Birthday.” It’s unclear if she knew them personally.
Powell’s mom, Linda Powell, told the New York Post her daughter organized the reunion to help mend fences between Martinez and Chukwuma, before the trio were killed in the collision.
“Brianna and Uche were on the outs and she wanted to get them together,” the grieving mom told the New York Post.
“This was a reunion, mostly people from high school. Michaela helped put this together,” Linda Powell told the New York Post, adding that her daughter was “always getting people together.”
