Pa. woman killed in Turnpike crash
Published in the Trenton Times, Wednesday, September 03, 2003
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP - A 21-year-old woman from Hanover, Pa., was killed yesterday when the car she was driving went off the road and struck a guardrail near Interchange 7A of the New Jersey Turnpike, state police said.
Emma K. Martinez, was a student at St. John's University in New York and was visiting her father, who lives in Burlington County. Martinez had lived in Pennsylvania the past 13 years, according to a family member.
Martinez was driving her car south just north of the interchange about 8 a.m. when she ran off the road and into a drainage ditch, state police from the Cranbury station said.
The driver's side door struck the "bull nose" at the beginning of the guardrail, said Sgt. Allan Laupa.
Martinez suffered serious trauma and internal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene by Mercer County paramedics, Laupa said.
Although the car ended up off the roadway and no lanes were closed, the accident backed up rush-hour traffic about three hours, state police said.
It was raining when the accident occurred, but it was unclear why the car ran off the road, Laupa said. Speed did not seem to be a factor, he said.
Trooper Marc Friedenberger, who is investigating, said fatigue may have contributed. Martinez was wearing a seat belt, he said.
An autopsy will be performed tomorrow.