In September 2025, friends Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas were tragically killed when they were run down by a speeding driver in their neighborhood in Cranford, New Jersey. Four months later, investigative journalist Kristin Thorne is sharing even more insight into the case in Luxury Handbag Shopping’s new true crime video series, Uncovered.
While the incident could have just been a tragic mistake, the case became more ominous when it was revealed that the victims knew the person behind the wheel of the car.
Niotis, who was just 17 years old at the time of her death, had gone to the police and her family to tell them about a former classmate who had been harassing and stalking her. Her issues with the former classmate had been going on for months, and once, he was even caught sitting outside her home in his car.
By September 2025, Niotis and her best friend, Salas, decided to ride their e-bikes to get boba tea. While riding down Burnside Avenue in Cranford, they came across a car that was going 70 miles an hour. The driver then ran them over before he left the scene without calling for help.
The driver was ultimately identified as the same former classmate that Niotis had reported on several occasions.
As Thorne broke down the case, she spoke with the Niotis family lawyer, Brent Bramnick, to get an even more intimate look into the situation. During their conversation, Bramnick revealed details about the two swatting incidents that Niotis experienced before her death. As Thorne explained, swatting is when police are called to a scene where their assistance is not actually needed.
He explained that the first swatting incident took place when police visited the Niotis family’s home without their knowledge. “They only find out the next day, through information received by Maria, that the police were at their house on a swatting incident. So now they find this out, and obviously they’re concerned,” Bramnick said. “They go to the police and report what’s going on. They’re giving them information about this swatting incident that they now possess.”
Despite going to the police, the family experienced another swatting incident days later when there was “absolutely nothing going on in the house that would require any police presence.”
As the family prepared to get ready for bed, Niotis’ mom, Foula Niotis, was greeted by police at the front door. “She looks across the street, the juvenile defendant is parked in his car across the street. Police go over and they talk to the juvenile defendant,” he said, adding that they told Foula that the defendant was heading straight home.
While Foula hoped that the teen boy would be taken into custody, he was not.
Following the deaths of Maria and Salas, Bramnick said that he and his team are “certainly not going to stop seeking information” amid the investigation.
“My hope is that the Niotis family, as well as the Salas family, get justice here,” Bramnick continued. “This is as horrible experience as any individual can suffer, to watch their child die, to have to go out and watch their child take their last breath as a result of what we see is allegedly this juvenile defendant running his car over her. I hope that we have an opportunity to get down to the truth of everything that happened from the start all the way to the finish.”
We reached out to the Cranford Police Department for comment on Niotis’ claims, but they referred us to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office. They said they would have no comment on the case.
