By The newspaper
Feb 27, 2024, 00:50 AM EST
Edwin Iván Martínez tragically died at age 13 in a car accident in Newark, the most populous city in New Jersey.
The tragedy occurred near Clifton Avenue and Montclair Avenue, when the car in which he was traveling with a family member was hit by another on Sunday shortly before 10 p.m., near his home, he reported. NBC News. Martínez, of Salvadoran origin, was in the passenger seat and died at the scene and his cousin, who was behind the wheel, was hospitalized in a coma.
“Edwin was a gift to his mother, who sacrificed everything she had to offer him a better life.”
Family members react after a 13-year-old boy died in a car accident in Newark.
“Distraught. Miserable. I was awake. They told me. I screamed. I told them you’re lying,” one family member said.https://t.co/DviV8THtFo
— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) February 26, 2024
“The last time I saw him was on Friday. And he wanted me to see him play soccer. His smile was phenomenal,” she told Pix11 Estephani Barraza, cousin of the deceased child. “She was supposed to return to El Salvador this year. With me and my sister. That possibility will not occur,” Barraza added. “Excess speed kills. “Excess speed kills,” she reiterated.
The entire family and community are inconsolable. “It’s crazy because now I feel hurt. I feel bad, bad, very bad,” said Francisco Hernández, uncle of the victim.
“He traveled to El Salvador during the last Christmas holidays and was lucky enough to meet his grandparents for the first time. Her hope was to visit them again this summer and she had been saving money to fulfill her dream,” another relative Dolores Barraza Martínez wrote about the child, on a page created to raise funds to support the family. “Edwin was a gift to his mother, who sacrificed everything she had to offer him a better life.”
There was no information about the other driver involved. Authorities urge witnesses to present any information that could help in the investigation. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said the collision remains under investigation and no arrests have been announced.
The authorities remember that there is zero tolerance for drivers who drive at excess speed and/or under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
In December, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed “Angelica’s Law,” intended to keep drivers with prior suspensions off the road by charging repeat offenders who operate vehicles after five or more violations with felony charges. traffic violations that resulted in suspensions or revocations.