Two Plainsboro residents seriously injured in Sunday afternoon single car accident.
By: Joseph Harvie
Two Plainsboro residents were seriously injured in a one-car accident Sunday at 2:40 p.m. on Route 1 north near Autumn Drive.
Police said Katrina Brown, 23, and John Walker, 24, had to be taken by the Monmouth Junction First Aid Squad to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick to be treated for injuries.
Ms. Brown suffered extensive leg injuries and underwent emergency surgery on Sunday night, police said. Mr. Walker, a passenger, suffered a head injury and was in critical but stable condition on Sunday.
Ms. Brown and Mr. Walker were both still in the hospital on Wednesday, said Kristen Walsh, spokeswoman for Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Ms. Walsh said Ms. Brown was in good condition and Mr. Walker was in fair condition.
South Brunswick Patrolman Laszlo Nyitrai of the Traffic Safety Bureau said Ms. Brown veered off the road in her 2002 GMC Yukon and struck a tree when she was trying to avoid an animal that ran onto the road.
The Yukon struck the tree head on and the front end of the car sustained the brunt of the damage and the car was destroyed, said Patrolman Nyitrai.
Route 1 had two lanes shut down in the area for about two hours, Patrolman Nyitrai said and the whole road was only shut down for a matter of minutes to allow tow truck to remove the vehicle from the roadside.
The Monmouth Junction Fire Department had to use the Jaws of Life to remove Ms. Brown from the vehicle, Patrolman Nyitrai said.
A black Labrador retriever that was in the Yukon jumped out of the vehicle at the time of the crash and could not be found.
There were no witnesses to the accident, said Patrolman Nyitrai and he is conducting an investigation for the South Brunswick Police Traffic Safety Bureau.