State police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Jones said Lanni's car veered into the northbound lanes, where it struck a 2004 Nissan Sentra. A passenger in the Sentra, 28-year-old Ilana Jonsson of Lincoln Park, also was killed.
The Sentra's driver, 28-year-old Justin Jonsson, was hospitalized in critical condition.
An Edison couple in a third vehicle that struck the Sentra from behind suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The accident shut down the highway for about four hours.
