Girl, 11, killed and 4 injured in crash at Italian Market

A trip to the Italian Market turned tragic Sunday after a man, who police say was driving under the influence, crashed with another vehicle in a crowded intersection. A South Jersey girl, 11, was killed, and four others were injured.

Police said that Max Drosi, 28, of Miami, was driving a rented Chevy Impala westbound on Washington Avenue about 12:30 p.m. when he ran a red light at Eighth Street, hitting a southbound Nissan Xterra SUV in the intersection, sending that vehicle ricocheting into a busy corner outside a market.

Jesse Giordano, the owner of Captain Jesse G. Inc., watched the crash and narrowly avoided being injured when the SUV plowed into the corner where his shop sits.

The crash injured two adults and two children, and the impact sent fruit, stacked in wooden boxes outside the store, flying. The 11-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:40 p.m., according to police.

She was indentified Monday as Samantha Nguyen-Ortanez, of Sicklerville.

Three of the injured were a boy, 3; a woman, 25; and a man, 46, who was working at the market. They were taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and listed Sunday evening in stable condition.

The driver of the SUV also suffered minor injuries. The woman, 48, was taken to Hahnemann University Hospital and was in stable condition.

Court records indicate Drosi has a criminal record.

In 2002, he was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to probation, according to court documents. He also was charged in 2004 and 2007 with possession of marijuana.

As a result of Sunday's crash, Drosi now faces charges of vehicular homicide while driving under the influence, reckless endangerment, and related offenses. He is set to appear in court April 11.

Giordano, whose family has owned the Bella Vista seafood and produce shop for more than 60 years, was visibly shaken as he and employees hosed down the corner after the tragedy and boarded up one of the shop's doors that had been knocked off its hinges.

"One minute you're doing business, the next . . . it's insane," Giordano said. "I can't believe it happened."

He motioned toward the sidewalk, indicating where the girl lay near the curb as medics tried to save her life.

"The accident just snowballed," he said. "I thought it would end right in the street, but it didn't."

Late Sunday afternoon, he stood with several workers and neighbors under the shop's red awning.

"It's horrible, 11 years old," said Michael Micali, a neighbor and friend of Giordano. "She had a whole life ahead of her."