A New Jersey couple and a baby were killed early Saturday in a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 80 that state police say was caused by a drunken driver.
The couple and baby, whose identities haven't been disclosed, occupied a 2004 Kia that was stuck in traffic at about 1:30 a.m. behind a Jeep Grand Cherokee on the highway in Rockaway Township, state police investigators said. The Kia was struck from behind by a 2014 Cadillac Escalade, which caused it to collide with the Jeep Cherokee.
The Kia caught fire and was engulfed in flames as state troopers arrived. The Escalade skidded off the highway and overturned on a grass embankment, investigators said.
The couple and baby were pronounced dead at the scene at 4 a.m., police said.
The driver of the Escalade, Bhavuk Uppal, 22, of Mountain Lakes, N.J., was charged with DWI, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving with a suspended license, three counts of causing a death by auto and two counts of assault by auto, police officials said.
Uppal, who was treated for injuries at Morristown Memorial Hospital and released, was being held at Morris County Jail in lieu of $300,000 bail, officials said. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer who could comment on the charges.
Two occupants of the Jeep Cherokee, K. Santiago-Madera, 26, and Brandon Green, 32, both of the Bronx, were taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital with injuries that weren't life-threatening, police said.
