Family Distraught Over Death Of Teen In New Jersey Turnpike Crash
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A Jersey City family is overcome with grief after a horrific accident that was caught on video.
As CBS2's Christine Sloan reported, 18-year-old Jose Cruz was killed Wednesday when the car he was in flew off the New Jersey Turnpike and landed in a parking lot.
The lives of Cruz's family changed in an instant. Now, a mother and daughter are enduring pain after losing their loved one.
"Ah my baby, my baby. Why'd they take him away," said Cruz's sister, Maria, overwhelmed with grief.
Cruz was the passenger in a car that somehow catapulted off the Turnpike in Linden and landed dozens of feet away on top of cars in a parking lot.
"They haven't told us in detail what has happened," said Patricia Veloso, Cruz's aunt. "It's still under investigation. We know that he was ejected from the car."
Veloso said Cruz was the type of kid every mother would have been proud to have.
"And it is just sad to see that he's taken from us," she added.
Cruz and three friends were heading to Six Flags Great Adventure after a long school year, Sloan reported.
Jonathan Donan, 22, was driving. He was treated and released from the hospital.
"I just hope this is something everybody can learn from. That if you're out there driving fast, doing things you're not probably supposed to be doing as you are driving, that this is a situation that everybody suffers from," said Veloso. "I can't be angry at him."
No one was answering the door at Donan's home a block away from Cruz's home. He was inside a car leaving the property when CBS2 arrived. His friends said he had no comment.
Cruz was a student at High Tech High school in North Bergen. Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday.
Donan's younger brother suffered minor injuries in the crash. A third passenger in the car was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
State police are investigating the accident.
