Iselin Man Charged With Vehicular Homicide For Death Of Colonia Young Woman

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — The Iselin man who police say caused the death of a 22-year-old Colonia woman last month has now been criminally charged.

Silvino Ruiz Alonso, 28, of Iselin, was charged March 4 with first-degree aggravated manslaughter, second-degree vehicular homicide, second-degree aggravated assault, second-degree assault by auto and third-degree endangering.

The fatal crash occurred at 10:36 p.m. Feb. 18 on Rt. 27 north near Deepa Auto Repair: Ruiz Alonso was driving a 2013 Hyundai Tucson and struck a 2025 Nissan Altima head on.

The Nissan was driven by Amber Torres, 22, of Colonia. Torres was rushed to JFK Hospital, where she later died.

Torres and her front-seat passenger, a 21-year-old woman also from Colonia, were headed to a friend's house that evening when they were hit, said her grieving family.

Her friend and Alonso were seriously injured, as well, and he was hospitalized for over a week with serious injuries.

Police say Ruiz Alonso was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of Rt. 27, and that's why he hit the Nissan head on. However, police did not give a reason why Alonso was driving in the wrong lanes.

Torres was in her lane, and headed north.

This is an active investigation. Anyone with information or surveillance footage of the area is asked to call Woodbridge Police Investigator Adam Kazawic at 732-602-7375 or Detective Stenly Vertus of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-8391.

Torres grew up in Colonia and graduated from Colonia High School in 2022, where she played softball and was a cheerleader, according to her obituary. She was currently enrolled at Rutgers University and she was only a few short months away from graduating; she was getting her degree in biology and planned to pursue a career in dentistry.

Before and during college, she worked as a waitress at Stewart’s Drive-In restaurant in Rahway and she also once worked as a server at Top Golf in Edison. Her father is a county corrections officer in New Jersey.

Last week: Funeral For Colonia Woman, 22, Killed In Crash Will Be Thursday