The driver of a sport utility vehicle that left the road and struck a utility pole on Route 1 South at Washington Road on Jan. 16 suffered an apparent medical issue that caused her to lose control of the vehicle, according to the West Windsor Police Department.
The crash, which was reported at 10:01 p.m., closed several lanes on the southbound side of Route 1 at Washington Road – known as the Penns Neck Circle – for about three hours while police investigated the incident.
The 48-year-old driver, who lives in West Berlin, was traveling southbound in the middle lane on Route 1 in a 2016 Toyota RAV 4 when a medical event caused her to drift into the right lane, police said. The vehicle left the road and struck the utility pole.
When police officers arrived, they found the driver trapped inside the SUV. The officers broke the windows to reach the driver, who was unconscious, unresponsive and in cardiac arrest.
West Windsor emergency medical technicians continued life-saving measures and took the woman to Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, which is a short distance away on Route 1 North.
After emergency room doctors stabilized her condition, she was flown to the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Trauma Center, New Brunswick. She was listed in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit, police said.
The West Windsor Division of Fire & Emergency Services, the West Windsor Volunteer Fire Co., the Princeton Junction Volunteer Fire Co., and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office’s Serious Collision Response Team responded to the incident, in addition to the West Windsor Police Department.
Anyone who may have additional information about the crash should contact Police Officer K. Brown at brown@westwindsorpolice.com, or call 609-799-1222 or the anonymous phone line at 609-799-0452.
