Police are investigating two fatal crashes, one in North Brunswick and one in South Brunswick, over the holiday weekend.
Two people – Michael Santana, 24, of Staten Island, New York, and Zarine Arshakyan, 55, of Lawrenceville – died in a multi-vehicle collision at 7:37 a.m. on May 25 in South Brunswick, according to police.
Santana, driving a 2016 Nissan, was traveling Route 130 northbound approaching the area of Ridge Road when he allegedly lost control of his vehicle, spun out, crossed the median, and struck a 2015 Toyota driven by Arshakyan, who was traveling in the southbound lanes of Route 130, police said.
Immediately after the collision, a 40-year-old woman from Scotch Plains, driving a 2013 Honda on Route 130 southbound, tried to swerve to avoid the crash scene, but struck the Toyota, police said.
The Staten Island man and Lawrenceville woman were pronounced dead at the scene. The 40-year-old woman suffered minor injuries, police said.
Moments after the three-car collision, there was an additional crash on Route 130 northbound involving two motorists attempting to avoid the initial crash, police said.
Route 130 was closed to traffic for approximately five hours while the investigation was conducted and debris removed. No criminal or motor vehicle charges are anticipated at this time, but the crash is still under investigation, police said.
Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact South Brunswick Patrolman Merkler at 732-329-4000 ext. 7412.
North Brunswick police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office are investigating an early morning fatal crash on May 24 in North Brunswick.
The crash, which involved three vehicles occurred at approximately 4:11 a.m. on Route 1 southbound in the vicinity of the Walmart at 979 U.S. Route 1, according to Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Christopher L.C. Kuberiet and Director Kenneth P. McCormick of the North Brunswick Police Department in a release.
The investigation into the crash is active and continuing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Patrolman Jason Zier of the North Brunswick Police Department at 732-247-0922, or Detective Jonathan Berman of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-4328.