Friends and family are mourning a 2-year-old boy who died from his injuries after a car struck him, his siblings and his cousin Tuesday night in Southampton Township, New Jersey.
Jairisa Galindo, 18, 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. The boys’ sister Mahya Martinez, 13, and their cousin, 8-year-old John Giles, were walking with them on the side of the road.
The group was walking in the flow of traffic when they were struck by a BMW sedan. Jairisa, Jyonsheil, Kahariel and John were all hit by the vehicle. 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.”
Mahya, the only child who wasn’t struck, held her baby brother in her arms as the paramedics arrived.
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“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 Hospital in Camden where they remain in critical condition. Family members say Jairisa is extremely critical with head injuries and may not survive.
Investigators say the posted speed limit at the crash scene is 45 miles per hour and there are no sidewalks, shoulders or street lights. Police say 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.
