The 17-year-old boy who allegedly mowed down two New Jersey teen girls and was stalking one of them spent months planning his attack, the girls’ families said late Wednesday.
Police had initially deemed the crash to be a hit-and-run accident when two 17-year-old girls were fatally struck by an SUV while riding e-bikes on Monday.
“It is now vital that the truth be shared: This was not an e-bike accident, and it was not a hit-and-run,” the families of Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas said in a joint statement shared with WNYW. “This was murder in the first degree.”
The families said they plan to deliver a statement to the public in Union at 7:45 p.m. Thursday.
“A coward of a man, who had been plotting this attack against Maria for months, carried out this horrific act, taking not only her life but also Isabella’s,” the families said. “He is not insane, he is competent and meditated.”
The high school juniors were riding along residential Burnside Avenue in their hometown of Cranford on Monday when a black Jeep Compass slammed into them just before 5:30 p.m., throwing them more than 100 feet.
The vehicle reportedly kept going with an e-bike jammed underneath before grinding to a halt half a mile away, where police caught up with and arrested the driver.
Maria and Isabella were rushed to the hospital but died later that day.
The teen suspect, from the neighboring town of Garwood, has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He has not been publicly identified due to his age.
Neighbors and family members said the boy had been stalking Maria for some time and that she’d lodged numerous complaints with authorities, but that nothing had been done prior to the deadly attack.
On Wednesday, Christopher Battiloro, the police chief of nearby Westfield, confirmed social media rumors that the suspect was related to him but clarified in a statement that he “is not my son and not a member of my immediate family.”
