Driver 'Distraught' Over South Brunswick Crash That Killed His Little Sister

South Brunswick, NJ - Azel Hernandez Vargas, the Toms River man who drove through a red light on New Year’s Day in South Brunswick, accidentally killing his 13-year-old sister, has been “distraught” over what happened, South Brunswick police tell Patch.

“He’s been distraught over losing his sister,” said Captain James Ryan. “But he’s also been extremely cooperative with our investigators, from the very first moment we talked to him.”

Vargas, 27, was wearing his seat belt when the 2005 Nissan Sentra he was driving collided with another vehicle on Rt. 1 at Deans Lane at 5 a.m. New Year’s Day. His 13-year-old sister, Blanca Hernandez, sat in the back seat unbuckled, police said.

He was injured, police said, but not seriously. She died later that day.

“As an adult, he had a responsibility to make sure all minors in the car had their seat belts on,” Ryan said. “He was wearing his. She was not wearing her’s.”

How the fatal accident occurred:

Investigators with the South Brunswick Traffic Safety Bureau just wrapped up their investigation into the crash last week. After painstakingly reconstructing the accident scene, talking to witnesses and conducting “dozens” of interviews, Ryan said, this is what they think happened:

Vargas was driving the Sentra with four other people in the car, a mix of friends and family, including his little sister Blanca in the back. They were all from the Toms River area and unfamiliar with South Brunswick.

He was lost, and using his cell phone for directions. He had the phone on the hands-free/speaker setting, and had it placed near him in the center console, police said.

As he approached the Rt. 1 intersection at Dean’s Lane, the phone dropped, Ryan said. Vargas briefly reached down to pick it up, but was unable to get it.

At that point, his car had come up on the intersection and Vargas thought he had a green light. He continued straight ahead, and that’s when he collided with a 2009 Nissan Quest minivan, headed northbound on Rt. 1.

The minivan broadsided the Sentra in the northbound lanes of Rt. 1 and sent the Sentra into a utility pole, police said.

Everyone in the back of the Sentra was badly hurt: Backseat passengers Cirilo Velazquez-Roja, 21, and Ilda Hernandez, 21, were both critically injured.

Blanca was alive when rescuers got to the scene, but died later that night at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

Sarah Zollner, 19, next to Vargas in the front, received non-life threatening injuries.

A married North Brunswick couple was in the minivan, along with a relative, police said. Driver Paramjit Singh, 59, Rajinder Kaur, 59, and Harinder Kaur, 32, were all treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Vargas was “distracted,” police say, but not by a cell phone

Police determined Vargas was distracted, but not by the cell phone.

”He dropped something — it would be as if he bent down to get a cup of coffee that had dropped,” said Ryan. “He was distracted when he went through the intersection.”

As a result, police did not file criminal charges against Vargas. He was charged with three motor vehicle violations: Not making sure Blanca was wearing a seat belt; running the red light and for going straight in a left turn-only lane.

Speed, drugs and alcohol were not factors in the crash, Ryan said. The fines range from $150 to $250 each.