Driver Abeer Virian facing charges after fiery crash that killed 2 people from Maryland in Highland Park, N.J.
HIGHLAND PARK, N.J. -- A driver is now facing charges following a crash that killed two people Tuesday in Highland Park, New Jersey.
The Middlesex County prosecutor's office says 34-year-old Abeer Viriani, of Iselin, has been charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter and two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide.
The horrific crash Tuesday evening killed a 75-year-old man and 77-year-old woman, both from Maryland.
It happened on Route 27 near North 10th Street, where neighbors have been concerned about traffic safety for years.
"There's a lot of people that speed down this road," one neighbor said.
Now, Highland Park Mayor Elsie Foster tells CBS2 she reached out to Gov. Phil Murphy and asked him to expedite Highland Park's request for the state to reconfigure Route 27 to make it safer.
She says Highland Park formally made the request years ago and adds, "Yesterday's incident was not the first car accident in recent years on that area of the highway; we want it to be the last one."
"You take your live in your hands every time you go out in this intersection, and nothing is being done," a neighbor said.
In 2016, a 6-year-old boy was tragically killed along Route 27 after police said a car jumped a curb and struck two pedestrians. That was just about six blocks from Tuesday's crash.
Route 27, which stretches through multiple counties, had the 11th highest crash rate out of all New Jersey state highways in 2020, the most recent year on record. That's out of the 132 highways listed in the state's database.
We also analyzed data just for the part of Route 27 that goes through Highland Park and found the crash rate there is higher than the crash rate for the entire highway.
Highland Park Police confirmed to us they looked into the safety of another intersection along Route 27 a couple years back due to concerns about crashes.
The mayor released the following statement:
"I am quite distressed over the loss of life in our town last night, in a tragic multi-car accident on Upper Raritan Ave (by North 10th Ave). Thank you to all our first responders who assisted at the scene and to the Highland Park Police Department, which managed the situation with professionalism and compassion.
"We have been asked to direct all inquiries from the media to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, which is actively investigating this accident.
"I have been in touch with Governor Phil Murphy today and urged him to expedite our request to the NJ Department of Transportation, for a road diet of Raritan Ave. We formally made this request several years ago. Yesterday's incident was not the first car accident in recent years on that area of the highway; we want it to be the last one. The Governor responded with suggestions that should help us advance this request."