Branchburg woman may get three years for multiple car crash.
By: Joseph Harvie
A Branchburg woman pleaded guilty to multiple charges last week stemming from a 2003 accident that left a North Brunswick man in critical condition.
Tamara Roscher, 26, pleaded guilty to several charges of aggravated assault and driving while intoxicated March 3 at Middlesex County state Superior Court in New Brunswick, according to Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch.
According to police, Jatin Shah, 31, of North Brunswick was critically injured after his Toyota was hit by the Dodge Durango driven by Ms. Roscher on Route 1 near Deans Lane on Jan. 26, 2003.
Mr. Sewitch said Ms. Roscher may be sentenced to three years in a state prison and could be eligible for parole after serving two years, six months and 20 days of the sentence.
Ms. Roscher’s sentencing is set for June 4, Mr. Sewitch said.
Police said that on the night of the accident, Ms. Roscher was driving south in the northbound lanes of Route 1, near Deans Lane, while under the influence of a prescription painkiller. Police said she sideswiped a Saturn driven by Sheng Hsu, 63 of North Brunswick. The Saturn spun around and struck a Toyota driven by Ronald Bolanowski, 54, of South Brunswick. Debris from the Saturn and Toyota collision struck a Subaru driven by Diane Brescher, 37, of Westfield.
Police said Ms. Roscher continued heading the wrong way on Route 1 for about another half-mile before colliding head-on with a Toyota, driven by Forman Shah, 33, of Plainsboro.
Forman Shah’s passenger, Jatin Shah, was critically injured in the accident and spent almost a month at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick recovering from internal injuries and several fractures.
The accident closed the roadway for approximately three hours during the investigation, police said.
Forman Shah, 33 suffered a broken leg and arm as a result of the accident, said Mr. Sewitch said.