Infant Suffers Serious Head Injuries in Route 80 Crash

An one-month-old infant was rushed to the hospital Monday night after being involved in a three-car crash on Route 80 in Saddle Brook, state police said.

The infant girl, identified as Melissa Mercado, was transported to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson with serious head injuries, Sgt. Brian Polite said. She was listed in critical condition early Tuesday morning.

The crash occurred just after 10 p.m. at mile-marker 62.3, when a Mazda 626 with four occupants traveling in the right-center lane lost its front left wheel and became disabled, Polite said.

A Honda CRV struck the disabled vehicle from behind, sending it careening into the left lane where it was struck again by a Nissan Altima, police said.

Only the baby in the backseat of the disabled Mazda suffered serious injuries in the crash, which shut down all of Route 80 westbound and backed up traffic about one-fifth of a mile, Sgt. Adam Grossman said. The infant's relationship to the vehicle's other occupants is unclear at this point, police said.

The accident remains under investigation.

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