Details, IDs Released On 2 Killed After Car Plunged Into N.J. River

Police have identified the two people who were killed early Monday after their car veered off the road and crashed into a river in New Jersey.

The driver, Robert J. Veras-Toribio, a 22-year-old male from North Brunswick, was found unresponsive and unconscious just outside the vehicle, police said.

Veras-Toribio was located by friends and officers, who arrived on scene and began to administer CPR. Medic units arrived, and shortly after he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The passenger, Kelvin Lantigua, a 21-year-old male from New Brunswick, was located in the vehicle. He was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

At 12:56 a.m, the New Brunswick Police Department received a report of a single- car motor vehicle crash in the area of Route 18 north just past the exit ramp for Route 27, police said.

Upon arrival, officers found a 2009 Honda Accord, which went through a wooded area and landed partially submerged in the Raritan River, police said.

The New Brunswick Fire Department responded to the scene and assisted with clearing the wooded area and gaining access to the vehicle.

The preliminary investigation indicates the driver was traveling on Route 18 North when he lost control of the vehicle, which left the roadway and struck a guardrail, eventually landing in the river.

The cause of the accident is currently under investigation. Route 18 Northbound was closed for approximately four hours and has been re-opened.

Anyone with information about this crash is asked to contact Patrolman Sean Cahill of the New Brunswick Police Department’s Traffic Safety Unit at 732-745-5005.