Crime & Safety
Teens Raced Before Crash That Killed NJ High School Student: Prosecutor
Two teens were involved in a high-speed race that resulted in the death of high school senior Diana Somarriba on Jan. 20, police said.
EDISON, NJ — Two teenagers have been charged in connection with a fatal crash that killed a South Brunswick high school student, prosecutors said Thursday.
Two vehicles, one driven by Tyler Dickerson, 18, of South Brunswick and another by a male juvenile, 17, were involved in a high-speed race on Jan. 20, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Thomas Bryan of the Edison Police Department.
The race resulted in the juvenile crashing his car into a vacant building in Edison, killing Diana Somarriba, 18, a South Brunswick High School senior who was the juvenile's passenger.
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On Wednesday, the juvenile was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and aggravated assault. He was released on conditions following a hearing before the Family Court. Dickerson was also arrested and charged with vehicular homicide and aggravated assault. He also was released after a hearing in Superior Court, Ciccone said.
On Thursday, Jan. 20, at 10:25 p.m., authorities in Edison responded to the southbound lane of Route 1 in the area of Fox Road following the report of a crash, police said.
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On arrival, authorities found Somarriba and two teenage males who were the occupants of a vehicle, which had struck a vacant building. Somarriba was taken to a nearby hospital where she was later pronounced dead, Ciccone said.
The investigation was conducted by Captain Dominic Masi of the Edison Police Department and Detective Jonathan Berman of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, Ciccone said.
The investigation is active and continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Captain Masi of the Edison Police Department at (732) 248- 7400 or Detective Berman of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office at (732) 745-4328.
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