CRANFORD – The Union County Prosecutor’s Office has announced that Vincent Battiloro, a Garwood teen who was charged with running down and killing two girls with his SUV last year, is being tried as an adult and will remain incarcerated without bail. The case will next be heard by a Grand Jury.
Battiloro, who was 17 at the time of the incident, is charged with two counts of murder in the first degree in relation to the deaths of Isabella Rose Salas and Maria Niotis.
At around 5:26 p.m. on Sept. 29, 2025, Cranford police responded to Burnside Avenue following reports that two teenage girls had been struck by a motor vehicle while riding their electric bicycles. The vehicle in question, later identified as Battiloro’s, then attempted to flee the scene.
Police arrived to find the girls, both 17, in serious condition. They were immediately transported to nearby medical treatment facilities but ultimately succumbed to their injuries and passed away shortly thereafter.
Battiloro, who was allegedly traveling at 70 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone at the time of the incident, was briefly detained and questioned by police after leaving the scene but was temporarily released into his family’s custody.
The following day, Battiloro went live on social media from his home in Garwood. He referred to the girls’ deaths as an “unfortunate situation” and berated people in the comment section for calling him a murderer. He also claimed that he “had good people on his side” and promised to “explain things in greater detail” once he was given permission to do so.
Battiloro was officially arrested and charged the following day.
The video, posted to a popular gaming channel on YouTube, was quickly taken down.
Maria Niotis’s mother has repeatedly stated that Battiloro was stalking her daughter in the months leading up to his arrest and claims that the family attempted to get a Restraining Order against him.
The news that Battiloro will be tried as an adult in State Superior Court came out last week at around the same time that Niotis and Salas would have been graduating from Cranford High School.
“Following a comprehensive and extensive investigation, Battiloro was taken into custody by members of the Union County Prosecutor’s Office and the Cranford Police Department. Having been waived up to the adult court system, his case will now proceed through the Criminal Part of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Union County Vicinage,” Union County Prosecutor William Daniel said via official memo last week.
Battiloro made his first virtual appearance in court Wednesday morning. If convicted he could face up to two consecutive life sentences in prison.
Requests for additional comments by the Prosecutor’s Office were not returned at the time of publication.
Anyone with additional information regarding this incident is urged to contact Union County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force Detective Alex Lanza at (908) 370-4318 or Cranford Police Detective Lieutenant Spencer Durkin at 908-709-7346.
