NEW BRUNSWICK — The Highland Park Police Department suspended a veteran officer without pay following charges he allegedly caused an automobile crash that injured two others while he was reportedly driving while intoxicated on New Year’s Eve in Woodbridge.
Norman E. Brown, 44, of Perth Amboy, was charged with two counts of assault by auto in the third degree and DWI after the 2008 Honda Accord he was reportedly driving crashed into a 2006 Honda Civic and seriously injured its two passengers, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Woodbridge Police Director Robert Hubner said in a joint statement on Feb. 14.
A preliminary investigation determined that around 1:40 a.m. on Dec. 31, Brown was reportedly coming off the exit ramp of Route 9 at the intersection of New Brunswick Avenue, allegedly went through a stop sign and crashed into the Civic.
The passengers in the Civic – a 19-year-old from the Fords section of Woodbridge and a 22-year-old from Perth Amboy – were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. One of the victims was airlifted to the hospital due to the severity of her injures, officials said.
Highland Park Police Chief Stephen Rizco said Brown, who was off-duty at the time of the incident, has served with the Highland Park Police Department for more than 11 years.
Brown is scheduled to appear in Middlesex County Superior Court on March 1.
Anyone with information should call Police Sgt. James Chessere of the Woodbridge Police Department at 732-634-7700 or Detective Donald Heck of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-8842.