The evening after a car struck siblings and a cousin Tuesday night in Southampton Township, New Jersey.the eldest child, who was looking after her half brothers, half sister and cousin, died.
Jairisa Galindo, 18, died late Wednesday night at Cooper University Hospital, New Jersey State Police said Wednesday.
Jairisa was pulling her half-brothers -- 2-year-old Jyonsheil Martinez and 6-year-old Kahariel Martinez -- inside a wagon in the center of the eastbound lane of Buddtown Road Tuesday around 8:20 p.m. Monday as the boys’ sister Mahya Martinez, 13, and their cousin, 8-year-old John Giles, walked with them on the side of the road.
The group was going with flow of traffic when a BMW sedan struck Jairisa, Jyonsheil, Kahariel and John. The impact caused the two boys to be thrown out of the wagon.
“We were outside and we heard a thud and my husband thought it was thunder,” said Cheryl O’Neil, a witness. “I was just horrified.”
O’Neil said she along with the driver, who stopped at the scene, tried to help the children.
“I checked his arm for a pulse and I didn’t find anything,” she said. “I think right then and there he took his last breath right after the paramedics got here and were working on him.”
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Mahya, the only child who wasn’t struck, held her baby brother in her arms as the paramedics arrived.
“She was holding him and he was just covered in blood,” O’Neil said. “She kept screaming, ‘is he breathing? Is he breathing?!’”
Jyonsheil was taken by medical helicopter to Virtua Hospital in Mount Holly where he later died from his injuries.
The remaining three victims were all flown to Cooper in Camden where Jairisa died about 24 hours later from a head injury. The other two were listed in critical condition.
Investigators said the posted speed limit at the crash scene is 45 mph and there are no sidewalks, shoulders or street lights. Police said the driver of the BMW is cooperating with the investigation and no charges have been filed. They also say there are no indications that speed, drugs or alcohol played a role in the accident.
A GoFundMe page was set up for the family. CLICK HERE if you would like to donate.
