Girl, 13, Who Died in Crash Was Driver's Little Sister

South Brunswick, NJ - In a tragic update to the New Year’s Day fatal car crash on Rt. 1 in this township, it has now been revealed that the 13-year-old girl who died was the sister of the driver, Azel Hernandez Vargas, 27.

Vargas may have been lost and using a navigation app on his phone when he drove through a red light on Rt. 1 at Deans Lane and crashed into another car at about 5 a.m.

Blanca Hernandez, 13, succumbed to fatal injuries she sustained in the crash. The four other people in the car, including her brother, survived.

“The leading indication is that a cell phone may have played a part in it. Witness statements indicate that the cell phone might have been used for navigation purposes, the driver might have been lost and as a result of that this is what happened,” said Capt. James Ryan, of the South Brunswick Police Department, told ABC 7.

“The person who was driving the car is the 13-year-old’s brother, so because of this lapse in judgment his younger sister is killed, this is a tragedy, there’s nothing at this point in time that indicates anything other than that,” Ryan said.

No charges have been filed.