By: Richard L. Smith
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is leading an investigation into a deadly car crash in West Orange that claimed the life of 24-year-old woman late Wednesday night.
Family and friends told RLS Media that Ms. Flaribel Hiciano, a township resident, and Newark native, was confirmed deceased overnight.
The violent collision occurred just before midnight on Wednesday near Pleasant Valley Way and Belle Terre Road, close to the I-280 ramp.
According to West Orange Police officials, emergency responders, including patrol units, the fire department, and medics, arrived at approximately 11:59 p.m. after receiving reports of a multi-vehicle accident with injuries.
Officers arrived and encountered a two-car collision involving a dark-colored Toyota carrying three passengers and a white Tesla driven by an unidentified man.
The impact of the crash left one passenger in the Toyota, later identified as Hiciano, with life-threatening injuries.
She was rushed to University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead after multiple attempts to apply blood transfusions were unsuccessful.
Two other passengers in the Toyota were taken to RWJ Barnabas Health with injuries, though their current conditions remain undisclosed.
Police are trying to determine if a traffic violation occurred that resulted in the wreck.
Hiciano, who had recently moved from Newark to West Orange, was remembered by friends and family as a dedicated dental assistant in South Orange and a 2017 graduate of Barringer High School.
She lived a close distance to the violent crash.
Family and freinds told RLS Media, she was returning home from an evening out with friends in Newark when the crash occurred.
The investigation into the cause of the collision is ongoing, and no further information has been released regarding the medical status of the other individuals involved.