Woman, 19, and parents killed in crash with propane tanker in South Jersey

A 19-year-old woman and her parents were killed when the car she was driving ended up in the path of a propane tanker truck in Franklin Township, Gloucester County, police said.

The driver’s 11-year-old brother was critically injured in the Sunday afternoon crash.

Police said Mariela Cardoso-Baez was driving a 2005 Mazda M3 with her parents and brother as passengers south on Lake Road about 3:20 p.m. when the car entered the path of the tanker truck, which was headed west on West Boulevard.

The tractor pulling the propane tanker ran over the car, pinning the vehicle beneath it, police said.

Cardoso-Baez and her parents, Jose Cardoso, 44, and Adriana Baez Mellado, 45, all residents of Bridgeton, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Her brother was airlifted to the Cooper University Hospital Trauma Center in Camden and listed in critical condition.

The truck driver, Michael Brancu, 48 of Clementon, was taken to Inspira Hospital Woodbury after complaining of back and neck pain, police said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation and no charges have been filed, police said.

Cardoso-Baez graduated in 2017 from Bridgeton High School, according to the school district’s interim superintendent Victor Gilson. Her brother, who has not been identified, is entering fifth grade at Quarter Mile Lane School.

Gilson said guidance counselors are working to locate other family members and will reach out to offer support.

Staff and faculty will provide financial assistance for funeral arrangements, he said.

“I personally would just say pray for the family and have them in your thoughts and prayers,” Gilson said Monday.