‘A good kid.’ Newark community mourns 13-year-old killed in crash

According to family and friends, Edwin Ivan Martinez's cousin was driving when they were hit.

Jim Murdoch and Lanette Espy

Feb 27, 2024, 5:38 PM

Updated 246 days ago

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Friends and relatives continue to leave candles, signs and photos of a 13-year-old boy who was killed Sunday in a crash in Newark.
There is a growing memorial at the intersection of Montclair and Clifton avenues where Edwin Ivan Martinez was killed around midnight.
According to family and friends, Martinez was at his cousin's house a block away when his mom called and said it's time for him to come home because he had school the next day. They say his cousin was driving when they were hit on the passenger side where Martinez was seated. His cousin also hurt in the crash.
A family friend told News 12 New Jersey that the family was originally from El Salvador and just weeks ago, Martinez visited his grandparents in the country.
“I believe he was very good in school, they loved him. He was a good kid,” said family friend Linda Rivas. “He was very good to his mother. Very respectful, from what I hear, to his mother. He loved his mother and he had been in his country in December, Christmas to see his grandparents.”
Rivas went on to say Martinez couldn't wait to go back and visit them again and he was saving money in a piggy bank for his next trip.
The crash remains under investigation.