A mother from New Jersey is fervently advocating for adult charges to be filed against the teenager accused of killing her daughter and her daughter’s best friend in a tragic incident.

Foulla Niotis has been vocal following the heartbreaking loss of her 17-year-old daughter, Maria, and Maria’s close friend, Isabella Salas. Last month, both girls were fatally struck by a Jeep in Cranford, New Jersey, allegedly driven by 17-year-old Vincent Battiloro, who is notably the nephew of Westfield Police Chief Christopher Battiloro.

According to police reports, the vehicle was traveling at an alarming speed of approximately 70 mph when it collided with the girls as they were riding an e-bike.

Currently, the case is being processed in juvenile court, where confidentiality rules restrict the release of details about the suspect. Nonetheless, traffic citations from the incident have identified Battiloro as the driver involved in this fatal crash.

“I want him to be tried as an adult. He knew what he was doing. I really, truly believe he knew what he was doing,” Niotis expressed to Fox News, emphasizing her desire for justice. “I want justice for these two beautiful girls. My girls.”

Niotis said she repeatedly warned police about Battiloro but was told there was little they could do because he was a juvenile. 

The family’s attorney, Brent Bramnick, said Battiloro began harassing Maria in March. 

He then escalated the behavior in September, making multiple false emergency calls, known as swatting, were made to Cranford police and to her home before the crash, and that Battiloro repeatedly parked outside their house. 

Foulla Niotis is urging prosecutors to try the 17-year-old suspect as an adult after her daughter Maria and Maria’s best friend Isabella were killed in a high-speed hit-and-run in Cranford, New Jersey 

Maria Niotis, 17, was one of the victims killed in the crash

He added that on one occasion, officers came to the scene and let him leave. 

New Jersey law does not allow restraining orders against minors, a gap that has sparked outrage and a petition for reform that has drawn nearly 7,000 signatures on Change.org. 

The suspect has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

‘I would like to see the truth come out,’ Bramnick told Fox News. 

‘We have a grieving family, a grieving mother, two innocent children lost. This is the type of unimaginable circumstances that we all fear, both people with children, people without children, everybody in the community, and the public has questions. 

‘And I think they deserve answers, and also the family deserves answers.’ 

Prosecutors can request to move certain juvenile cases to adult criminal court based on the circumstances. 

Bramnick said the deaths of Maria and Isabella are exactly the kind of case that should qualify for that transfer. 

Isabella Salas, 17, was also killed in the crash

‘There are a number of incidents that occurred prior to the murder of both of the children, and the question we would ask is what was done?’ he said.

Police Chief Christopher Battiloro, the suspect’s uncle, condemned the killings, and made it clear the suspect was not in his immediate family.

The suspect’s father served as a Chatham Borough police officer until retiring in December 2024, and his uncle is the current police chief in Westfield.

The family has asked New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin to review the case. 

A GoFundMe has been created to help both grieving families during this time.