By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Route 535 was partially blocked for about an hour Monday afternoon, following a two-car collision that sent a Lexus sport utility vehicle tumbling 12 feet down into a retention basin near the Courtyard Marriott hotel on Route 535 at Route 32.
Paras Dalal, 47, of East Windsor Township, was driving his Lexus RX450 south on Route 535 around 6:30 p.m. when it was struck on the side by a Toyota Corolla, driven by 21-year-old Florencia Nievas of Rahway, according to the South Brunswick Township Police Department.
Ms. Nievas, who was traveling north on Route 535, was attempting to turn left onto Route 32 when the accident occurred, police said. The impact caused Mr. Dalal’s vehicle to veer to the right, striking a curb. The Lexus continued through some bushes and struck the Courtyard Marriott sign. It went over a retaining wall and down into the retention basin, coming to rest on its roof.
A bystander helped Mr. Dalal out of his vehicle in the parking lot before police arrived. The Monroe First Aid Squad took him to the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro. Ms. Nieves was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital by the Monmouth Junction First Aid Squad.
Both were treated for non-life threatening injuries.
The roadway was blocked for about an hour while a towing company used a lift to remove the Lexus from the hotel’s retention basin. The accident is under investigation by the South Brunswick Township Police Department.
