Vincent Battiloro, Garwood teen who killed 2 Cranford, NJ girls in hit & run releases Livestream video saying he is the real victim. One of the victims, Maria Niotis had recently broken up with the teen, who he rammed along with her friend, Isabella Salas with his Jeep as they rode an e-bike.
A Garwood, New Jersey teen accused of intentionally running over and killing two teen girls riding an e-bike, one of whom he used to date before the teen girl breaking up with him has alleged being the ‘real victim.’
Vincent P. Battiloro, 17, of Garwood, N.J was identified as the alleged teen driver of a black jeep that callously ran over the two girls Monday afternoon as they rode an e-bike alongside Burnside Avenue in Cranford, Monday afternoon after school.
Garwood teen had 15 prior driving infractions prior to fatal hit and run
The victims, Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas, students at Cranford High School, both 17, died shortly after being rushed to hospital.
Battiloro who fled the scene and discarded his Jeep near the scene was arrested Tuesday night before being formally charged with the girls’ murders the next day.
The incident comes as the family of one of the victims allege the teen of stalking their daughter ‘for months’ along with filing a restraining order against him after breaking up with him.
A report via N.J.com linked Battiloro to the crime scene after linking him to at least 15 driving infractions according to New Jersey’s municipal court records in recent months.
They include citations for leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, careless driving and speeding. He also received summonses for driving without a license, a registration and an insurance card, the outlet reported.
Vincent Battiloro, the Cranford NJ suspect in the vicious and purposeful murder of his stalking victim and her best friend is free less than a day later and posting on YouTube and TikTok about the incident. pic.twitter.com/Ib6lQ7JMMA
— Paul Danner (@Paul_Danner_) October 1, 2025
Garwood teen releases Livestream video discussing fatal hit and run
The Union County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday that first degree murder charges had been filed against the 17-year-old from Garwood, while declining not to name the teen.
The teen according to the victims’ relatives had ‘planned’ the attack ‘for months.’
Prior to his arrest on Wednesday, Vincent Battiloro had taken to social media in which he shared a YouTube Livestream video where he expressed his ‘sincerest condolences to those two girls lost in that tragic accident.’
The teen furthermore alleged receiving threats against his family ‘about this whole spiel’ and ‘whole drama’ while arguing he’s been ‘bullied’ over past ‘false allegations.’
‘This is a very serious incident that happened, and I don’t even know if I should be sharing this right now … this will be in the hands of Jesus, everything will be OK, I will get this sorted out,’ Battiloro said in the livestream. ‘…There’s more to the story, but again, I’m not gonna be authorized to comment on it.’
Added Battiloro, ‘I’ve been through way too much. I’m a nice kid. I’m 17 years old with a good family by my side. And these allegations that have been ruining everything is a shame.’
The 17 year old then alleged being a victim of bullying and harassment.
‘I really think there needs to be more done to address mental health in the state cause you know … I’ve been bullied, ridiculed and stuff over false allegations, OK? About things that have happened in the past. There’s more to this story, it’ll come out in the future.’
@fox5newyork“The school was notified. The police were notified. And nothing happened.” At first, officials described the deadly incident in Cranford, New Jersey, as a hit-and-run involving e-bikes. But residents on the block where the 17-year-old girls lived say the suspect had allegedly been stalking one of them for months—watching her online, parking outside her home, and, in their words, “never being stopped.”♬ original sound – FOX 5 NY
Garwood teen’s uncle condemns fatal hit and run
Adding, ‘The amount of bullying I’ve been put through in the past has been absolutely absurd. But again, if I do end up taking a hiatus, I’m telling you guys why.’
The teen’s uncle, Chief Christopher Battiloro of the Westfield Police Department and who happens to live on the street where the two girls were mowed down has since condemned the two teen girls slaying along with distancing himself from his nephew.
‘As a result of this tragic incident, I lost a neighbor – a beautiful, charismatic young lady named Isabella Salas, who I have watched grow up since the day I moved to Cranford,’ the top police cop said according to Patch.com.
Adding, ‘As a law enforcement officer, I maintain full faith and confidence in our criminal justice system, and that it will ensure he is held fully accountable. I, too, pray for these families. I, too, demand full accountability and justice.’
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the victims’ families have alleged that the crash was premeditated, with Battiloro allegedly stalking one of the teen girls for months leading up to Monday’s fatal hit and run crash.
‘The school was notified, the police were notified,’ the families told Fox 5.
‘It is now vital that the truth be shared: This was not an e-bike accident, and it was not a hit-and-run,’ the families stated. ‘This was murder in the first degree.
Adding, ‘A coward of a man who had been plotting this attack against Maria for months, carried out his horrific act, taking not only her life but also Isabella’s.’
Will prosecutors seek to try Vincent Battiloro as an adult?
A friend of both girls told the nypost that Battiloro had been ‘creeping’ outside Maria’s house for months.
‘How can you sit in front of someone’s house for three months? He was out there in front of her house, in the same car, his car, for three months,” the distraught pal said. ‘I saw it! Tell me. How is he able to do that?”
‘He needs to go to jail for the rest of his life,’ she added. ‘He took two lives. He should at least give up one.’
A friend of both girls added that Maria and her ex-boyfriend, believe to be Battiloro, were having serious problems, and the ex even sent a threatening text to a boy that Maria dated after they broke up, NJ.com reported.
Battiloro is now in custody and is currently being tried as a juvenile. Prosecutors have not announced whether they will seek to try the teen as an adult.
Minors as young as 15 years old can be charged as adults if they are tied to a homicide.
A GoFundMe that has been launched to support the families of both victims has raised more than $142,356 as of Thursday evening.
