SOUTH BRUNSWICK – Police have levied criminal charges against a 49-year-old truck driver for failing to stop for a red light that resulted in serious injuries of two 16-year-old South Brunswick teens, according to South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka.
The serious motor vehicle crash between the tractor trailer traveling northbound on ORute 1 and a Honda Accord traveling westbound on 522 occurred at 10:31 p.m. on Nov. 30, police said.
The tractor trailer was struck by the Honda Accord driven by a 58-year-old South Brunswick man with two 16-year-old passengers from South Brunswick. The occupants of the Honda Accord were transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, police said.
The teens suffered serious injuries, but are expected to make a full recovery, police said
An investigation by Police Officer Tyler Harpster and Traffic Safety Bureau Police Commander Mike Leung uncovered witnesses and video which captured the crash. Investigators were able to determine that the traffic light had been red for Route 1 for six seconds at the time of the collision. The investigation found that the truck driver allegedly made no attempt to brake prior to the collision and would have been over 450 feet away from the intersection when the light changed to red, police said.
The investigation found the driver was “reckless in his operation of the tractor-trailer.” The driver been charged with two counts of assault by auto for the reckless driving that led to the crash, police announced on Dec. 5.
Hayducka said, “the lack of attention by so many drivers is one of the leading causes of crashes around this state.”
“This crash shows how being distracted can create disaster. The investigators determined the truck would have been half a football field away from the intersection when the light turned red, but the truck driver never stopped. Now the driver faces criminal charges, and the victims face a long recovery,” he said.
