Charges filed in fatal crash

Driver from Texas who caused the death of a woman is charged with careless driving.

By: Joseph Harvie
   A 58-year-old Amarillo, Texas, truck driver who Caused the death of a woman when he tried to make an illegal left turn from northbound Route 1 onto westbound New Road at 5:45 a.m. April 11 was issued five traffic summonses Wednesday, police said.
   Police said Willie Houston was charged as a result of the accident with careless driving, making an improper turn from marked turning course, failure to yield, obstructing the passage of a vehicle and improper turning.
   Police have not ruled out criminal charges. The accident remains under investigation by Officer Michael Rogers of the South Brunswick Police Traffic Safety Bureau.
   Police said Victoria Eastmond, 24, of Hazlet was pronounced dead at the scene after her 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier crashed into the 2004 Freightliner tractor-trailer driven by Mr. Houston.
   Police said the accident forced three lanes of the four-lane highway to close for almost five hours as workers from the state Department of Transportation cleaned debris from the crash.
   Police said Ms. Eastmond was headed to work at Schlumberger, an international oilfield and information services company in West Windsor.
   Shortly after the first collision, a 1998 Volkswagen being driven south on Route 1 by Lee Walker, 27, of North Brunswick also hit the tractor-trailer, police said. His car got stuck between the back wheels of the tractor and the front of the trailer. Police said Mr. Waker was not seriously injured.
   The Kendall Park First Aid Squad transported Mr. Walker to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick where he was treated and released, police said.
   Police said Mr. Houston, the truck driver, was uninjured.
   Police said the tractor-trailer is owned by Covenant Transport and was empty at the time of the collision. It was headed from Bensalem, Pa., to Lebanon, Pa.