Woman killed and 5 injured in crash caused by NJ driver with suspended license, officials say

🚨 A 21-year-old Clifton man faces multiple charges after a deadly North Bergen crash.

⚠️ A woman was killed and five others were injured in the massive wreck.

⚖️ Prosecutors also charged the driver with causing death while driving with a suspended license.

NORTH BERGEN — A 21-year-old man has been arrested after prosecutors say he was responsible for a four-vehicle crash that killed a North Bergen woman and injured five other people.

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Clifton resident Mahmoud Khalifa was arrested on Monday, according to Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello.

Khalifa is charged with aggravated manslaughter, death by auto, five counts of assault by auto, and causing death while driving with a suspended license. He's being held at the Hudson County jail pending his first appearance in Superior Court.

The intersection of Tonnelle Avenue and 70th St. in North Bergen as seen in this October 2025 Google Street View image. (Google Maps)

34-year-old woman killed in North Bergen crash

Prosecutors said that Khalifa was the driver of a BMW 435i sports car involved in the early morning crash on Saturday, May 30, 2026. It happened around 4:30 a.m. in North Bergen near the corner of Tonnelle Avenue and 70th Street.

Police found four vehicles in the wreck, including a tractor-trailer, a Hyundai Tucson SUV, and two sports cars: the BMW 435i and an Alfa Romeo Giulia.

The driver of the Hyundai SUV has been identified as Karen Velasquez-Ochoa, 34, of North Bergen. She was dead at the scene, prosecutors said.

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Four people in the Alfa Romeo were injured. A passenger in Khalifa's car was also injured.

A request for the affidavit detailing the accusations against Khalifa was pending Monday. New Jersey 101.5 has also requested Khalifa's driving records from the Motor Vehicle Commission.

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