The girl was a rear passenger in a car driven by her brother.
SOUTH BRUNSWICK -- Police have released the identity of a 13-year-old girl who was killed in a two-car crash on New Year's Day.
Blanca Azucena Hernandez Vargas, 13, of Toms River, was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital less than 24 hours after the early-morning crash on Route 1 in South Brunswick, police said.
http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2016/01/route_1_crash.html
Police said the driver, 27-year-old Azel Hernandez Vargas -- the older brother of the 13-year-old victim -- may have been distracted by a cellphone as he crossed the Route 1 northbound lanes at Deans Lane around 5 a.m. Friday. A Nissan Quest headed northbound broadsided Hernandez Vargas' Nissan Sentra, sending it into a utility pole. Alcohol is not believed to have been a factor in the crash, but police said they are still investigating the circumstances.
Five people in total were in the Sentra. Backseat passenger Cirilo Velazquez-Roja, 21, of Lakewood, remains in critical condition at the hospital. Ilda Hernandez, also sitting in the back seat, is in critical but stable condition. Front passenger Sarah Zollner, 19, of Toms River, was treated for injuries that were not life threatening.
http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2016/01/8_hospitalized_in_route_1_crash_roadway_back_open.html
The occupants of the Nissan Quest that hit the Sentra -- driver Paramjit Singh, 59, front passenger Rajinder Kaur, 59, and rear passenger Harinder Kaur, 32, all of North Brunswick -- were also treated for their injuries.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the relationship between the driver and the 13-year-old victim. Azel Hernandez Vargas is the older brother of Blanca Azucena Hernandez Vargas.
Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.