NJ high school student killed on way to first day of classes

FRANKLIN (Hunterdon) — The excitement of a new school year at North Hunterdon High School turned to mourning after a student died in a crash on the first day of school.

Sophia Detorres, 16, of the Pittstown section, was a passenger in a three-vehicle crash Thursday morning at Hogback (Route 617) and Lowers Lansdown roads, officials said.

Sophia was pronounced dead at the scene. Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renée M. Robeson did not provide further information about the crash.

Three more passengers and a driver were hospitalized with serious injuries. One person remains in critical but stable condition, according to Robeson.

Sophia's brother George was one of the students in the crash, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser created to help her family.

"This is about helping a fellow family somehow comprehend what just shook their world upside down. About trying to help in any way possible to reduce any stress possible during this difficult time," the fundraising page says.

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Athlete, dancer, future psychologist

Sophia was a member of the North Hunterdon cross country and track teams and started looking at colleges, hoping to major in psychology. She also danced competitively for 11 years.

Services will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday at the South Ridge Community Church, 7 Pittstown Road, Clinton.

It is the sixth fatal crash in Hunterdon County in 2024 and the second in Franklin Township, according to State Police records.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Franklin Township police at 908-735-6508 or the Prosecutor's Office at 908-788-1129.