HACKETTSTOWN, NJ (Warren County) – Funeral services have been announced for Yexsel Francisco Reyes Granados, the 4-year-old Hackettstown boy who tragically died from injuries sustained in a multi-vehicle crash on Route 10 in Randolph Township earlier this month.
Yexsel passed away on April 11 at Morristown Medical Center, one day after the devastating crash involving a school minivan and three other vehicles at the intersection of Route 10 and Millbrook Avenue. Authorities said the school vehicle, registered to Alyft Transport LLC, was transporting students and staff from P.G. Chambers School in Cedar Knolls.
The collision claimed the lives of three adults — Bertha Castaneda, 67, of Dover; Diane Goetz, 71, of Randolph Township; and Maria Z. Figueroa, 58, of Wharton Borough. Two children, including Yexsel, were transported to area hospitals; Yexsel later succumbed to his injuries. Two additional adults were treated at the scene.
Authorities said Castaneda, Figueroa, and Yexsel were traveling in the school vehicle.
Born in Newton on November 15, 2020, Yexsel was remembered by loved ones as a sweet and joyful child whose bright spirit touched everyone he met. “He had a smile that lit up the room and a heart full of curiosity and wonder,” according to his obituary.
He is survived by his parents, Francisco Cristino Reyes Flores and Mariana Granados Granados Oviedo, as well as siblings Seidy Edith, Meslin Noel, Rolfi Samuel, and Edgar Cristino Reyes Granados. His grandparents, Faustina Oviedo and José Antonio Granado, also survive him, along with a large extended family.
Visitation will be held Sunday, April 27, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Maguire-Scala Memorial Home, 124 High Street, Hackettstown. A Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for Monday, April 28, at 11:00 a.m. at the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 302 High Street, Hackettstown. Burial will follow at Union Cemetery in Hackettstown. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Maguire Memorial Home & Cremation Services.
The investigation into the crash remains ongoing, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
