NJ man accused of wrong-way speeding crash that killed woman, 74

A 20-year-old Old Bridge man was speeding and trying to pass another vehicle in Hillsborough last month when his Dodge Charger crashed head-on with a Mercedes Benz, killing a woman, according to Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald.

Jaden Brandon Ramos has been charged with second-degree reckless vehicular homicide and fourth-degree assault-by-auto, stemming from the July 22 deadly crash.

Hillsborough Township Police and medical personnel responded just after 4 p.m. to an emergency call following the two-vehicle crash in the area of Amwell Road and Cemetery Lane in the town’s Neshanic section, McDonald said.

Officers found a crumpled black 2016 Mercedes Benz, whose male driver had suffered serious injury to his left leg. His only passenger, a 74-year-old woman, was pronounced dead shortly after at a local hospital.

Both occupants of the Mercedes were Flemington residents, police said. No further details on their identities were disclosed as of Thursday.

A woman was killed in a Hillsborough crash on Amwell Road on July 22 (Google Maps)

Ramos was found at the wheel of a wrecked blue 2007 Dodge Charger about 30 feet off the roadside, according to the prosecutor. He was taken for treatment of hip pain.

Police spoke with two witnesses, who said that the Charger was speeding well above the posted 35 mph limit, heading east in the westbound lane at the time of the crash.

Investigators found that Ramos was trying to pass another eastbound vehicle in a no-passing zone on Amwell Road when he veered into westbound traffic and crashed into the Mercedes.

Additional forensic evidence analyzed by the County Prosecutor’s Office Collision Analysis Reconstruction Team showed that the Charger was going nearly twice the limit — between 65 and 67 mph.

If convicted, Ramos could face between five and 10 years in state prison on the second-degree charge, alone.

Erin Vogt is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at erin.vogt@townsquaremedia.com

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