Crime & Safety
Woman Charged In North Brunswick Crash That Killed 2 Children
On Thanksgiving, a Honda Accord driving on the wrong side of the road crashed into a marked Old Bridge cop car, police said.
SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A woman from New Brunswick was charged in connection with the fatal Thanksgiving crash that resulted in the death of two nine-year-old children, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Joseph Battaglia of the North Brunswick Police Department said Tuesday.
On Thursday, Nov. 25, around 11:53 p.m., authorities responded to the southbound lane of Route 130 near the on-ramp to Route 1 in North Brunswick following a report of a serious crash involving a marked Old Bridge Police patrol vehicle and a Honda Accord.
On arrival, authorities found Yokauri Batista-Alcantara, 31, of New Brunswick, and two children at the scene. Batista-Alcantara and the children were taken to a nearby hospital where the juveniles were pronounced dead, Ciccone said.
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The officers and an in-custody civilian passenger in the Old Bridge police car were taken to a nearby hospital and treated for their injuries.
According to the initial investigation, the two police officers were taking the in-custody passenger to the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick when Batista-Alcantara drove the wrong way down the on-ramp and struck the police vehicle, Ciccone said. Authorities believe reckless driving and alcohol consumption were the contributing factors to the crash, Ciccone said.
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On Friday, Nov. 26 Batista-Alcantara was charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide, two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of aggravated assault, and one count of fourth-degree assault by auto.
She is currently at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center where she is being held pending a pre-trial detention hearing in Superior Court.
Batista-Alcantara's mother started a GoFundMe seeking community help to bring her home. According to the page, one of the children killed in the crash was Batista-Alcantara's son and the other her nephew. (UPDATE: The GoFundMe page was taken down Tuesday evening)
“If you knew Yokauri, you knew that she loved her son more than life itself. Furthermore, she loved her nephew just as much. Unfortunately, this is the most horrific situation imaginable for anyone to experience. Yokauri is forced to grieve for her only son and her nephew alone, while facing impending charges,” Margarita Alcantara wrote.
“I know my daughter and this situation can truly happen to anyone in the blink of an eye. Please join efforts with me in bringing my daughter home as this is a horrifying tragedy all around.”
The investigation is active and continuing. Anyone with information or video footage of the area is asked to call Detective Jonathan Berman of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-4328.
The Attorney General's office is also conducting an investigation into the incident.
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