Driver in high-speed Route 3 crash that killed three was drunk, drugs found in car, sheriff says

UPDATE: The driver in a horrific crash yesterday that killed him, a Passaic woman and another man where eastbound Route 3 merges onto Route 495 in North Bergen was drunk — and investigators found cocaine, marijuana and pain and sleep medication in the vehicle, authorities said today.

Photo Credit: *Cliffview Pilot File Photo*

Jerry DeMarco

07/04/2014 7:53 p.m.

Margarita Santiago, 32, of Passaic, was headed to visit family in Massachusetts with her cousin, 34-year-old Miguel Barreto Jr., who’d come with Hector Perez, 37, also of Massachusetts, to pick her up, Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari said.

The white Mercedes station wagon was speeding when it struck the guard rail at the point where Route 3 eastbound merges with Route 495 at 5:40 p.m., sending it airborne, Schillari said.

It landed on the driver’s side door, slid 50 yards and struck a utility pole, ending up in pieces, they said.

The entire eastbound highway was closed until nearly 11:30 a.m. as investigators worked to determine what happened.

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