Cranford honors girls killed by 70-mph ‘murder Jeep’ with Valentine’s tribute

💔 Cranford creates a “love storm” honoring Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas

💔 Nearly 200 handmade hearts now hang on a gazebo in Sperry Park

💔 The juvenile charged in the crash has not yet gone to court

CRANFORD — Two best friends killed in September after being rammed by an accused homicidal teen driving an SUV at 70 mph will be remembered with a "love storm" on Valentine's Day.

This year's display at the Sperry Park gazebo pays tribute to the tragic deaths of 17-year-olds Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas in a slaying that shook the township and is still very much unresolved.

The girls were sitting on an eBike on Burnside Avenue in Cranford on Sept. 29 when the teen hit them from behind with a Jeep Compass, according to officials. The teen is charged with two counts of first-degree murder as a juvenile.

The 60-day deadline has long passed for Union County Prosecutor William Reynolds to apply for the charges to be waived up to an adult level. It is still a juvenile case and under New Jersey law, all details remain shielded from the public. It's also not known if the teen is being held in a juvenile facility.

Since 2021, Teresa Murray, the owner of Cranford YarnStormers, has been hanging 200 knit and crocheted hearts at the gazebo for Valentine's Day, some years raising money or collecting coats for charity.

"This year, I just thought it would be a nice tribute to think about the families and everything that they continue to go through," Murray said. "I don't know them personally, but I think everyone in town was affected by what happened. It was just so terrible."

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‘Everyone in town was affected,’ organizer says

Murray said she first checked with a good friend of one of the girls to get her thoughts about such a tribute.

"I don't want to overstep or make them upset. I just thought it would be something nice to do to have the community continue to think about them," Murray said.

Murray said she hopes that people will visit the gazebo and feel inspired by the love that went into the making of each heart.

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