NJ teen died in a horrific Route 1 crash — and the accused driver still can’t face a judge in person

✅ An Edison High School junior was killed in a Route 1 crash in February

✅The accused driver remains hospitalized and missed a scheduled court hearing

✅Prosecutors say Salman rejected a plea deal

WOODBRIDGE — The driver in a horrific crash on Route 1 in February that killed an Edison High School student is still hospitalized and unable to appear in court.

Mikael Salman, 18, failed to stop for police on Route 1 around midnight on Feb. 19 while driving a Nissan with New York plates.  Instead of stopping, investigators say Salman hit the gas and accelerated at a speed “greatly in excess” of the limit. He blew through a red light at Gill Lane and smashed into the passenger side of a Buick.

Karla Gamero, 17, of Edison, a junior at Edison High School, was sitting in the front passenger seat of the Nissan. She was pronounced dead at the scene. A dog inside the Nissan was also killed in the crash.

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Mark Alexich

Court hearing postponed as Salman remains hospitalized

Salman, from the Iselin section of Woodbridge, has been hospitalized ever since the crash, according to court records. He was indicted on May 11 on aggravated manslaughter while eluding law enforcement, death by auto, four counts of aggravated assault, assault by auto, endangering the welfare of a child, resisting arrest and animal cruelty.

A post-indictment arraignment was postponed Monday until July 20 at 9 a.m.

Salman rejected a plea deal in April that would have dropped a vehicular homicide charge in exchange for guilty pleas to aggravated assault, eluding, and animal cruelty the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office told NJ.com.  He would have been sentenced to 20 years behind bars.

A passenger in the Buick, Mark Alexich, of Hamilton in Mercer County, suffered serious injuries and was placed in an induced coma. He was released from the hospital.

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