Man dies days after 88-year-old’s wrong-way crash in Woodbridge

WOODBRIDGE —  A 26-year-old man who was seriously injured in a head-on collision on Route 9 last weekend has died from his injuries, friends say.

An 88-year-old man, Thomas McHugh, of Cranford, drove a Nissan Pathfinder the wrong way on the southbound side of Route 9 in Woodbridge last Sunday morning, hitting an Accura RSX driven by the younger man, Woodbridge police told New Jersey 101.5.

The crash caused one of the vehicles to catch fire, according to police. Both drivers were taken to Robert Wood John University Hospital in New Brunswick, where McHugh passed away on Monday.

Friends on a GoFundMe.com page identified the 26-year-old as Victor E. Rodriguez, saying he died late in the week with third-degree burns over 60 percent of his body.

"Victor was stuck in his car burning alive for 20 minutes," according to Shaheena Shahid, the page's creator.

Shalid wrote that he was eventually determined to be brain dead after fighting for his life for four days. The page is to help with funeral arrangements and "the unexpected costly burden placed upon his family due to the fault of irresponsible and reckless man."

McHugh, a former PSE&G power plant operator and Korean War veteran, was laid to rest on Saturday in Cranford, according to his obituary.

Police have not yet returned a message from New Jersey 101.5.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ