The youngest victim of Friday’s two-car crash on Route 1 in South Brunswick has died, Peter Haigney, Director of Public Relations at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, told NJ101.5.

The 13-year-old child was rushed to the hospital early Friday morning, along with two other occupants of the car, a 29-year-old male and a 21-year-old female.  All were listed in critical condition upon arrival, Haigney said, and both the 29-year-old and 21-year-old remain in critical condition at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital. The family of the 13-year-old girl has been notified.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick (RWJUH)
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"It was a mass casualty incident," said Haigney. "They brought [the critical victims] here because we're a level 1 trauma center."

In their preliminary investigation, South Brunswick police reported that a Nissan Sentra carrying five occupants was crossing over Route 1 toward Deans Lane when it was broadsided by a Nissan Quest minivan.  There are some signs that the driver of the Sentra may have been distracted by a cellphone and run a red light, the report said. There are no indications that alcohol was involved in the incident, which was reported at 5:13 a.m.

The Monmouth Junction Fire Department used the Jaws of Life to extricate all of the five occupants of the Sentra, aged 13 to 27, who were trapped inside the car. The three occupants of the minivan included a husband and wife, age 59, from North Brunswick and an adult relative.  All eight people were transported to area hospitals with injuries, some non-life threatening.

An accident on Route 1 northbound at Henderson Road in South Brunswick (Charles W. Kim, TAP into South Brunswick-Cranbury)
An accident on Route 1 northbound at Henderson Road in South Brunswick (Charles W. Kim, TAP into South Brunswick-Cranbury)
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First Aid Squads from Monmouth Junction, Kendall Park, Kingston, and North Brunswick, along with paramedics from Robert Wood Johnson University and JFK hospitals, treated the injured. Seven of the occupants were transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and one to St. Peter’s University Hospital. Portions of Route 1 were closed for six hours as police investigated the crash.

The South Brunswick Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office are investigating the accident, though neither could be reached for comment on Saturday.

Correction: Previously, the ages of the victims were listed in the police report as 12, 15 and 21.

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