SOUTH BRUNSWICK – The actions of a FedEx driver saved a motorist on July 13.
Around 8:28 p.m., police received several 911 calls of a motor vehicle accident involving an overturned vehicle on fire on Ridge Road, according to information provided by the South Brunswick Police Department.
When police arrived they found the driver of the crashed vehicle, a 24-year-old male from Spotswood, injured but away from the vehicle.
Police learned that he was reportedly driving a 2002 Nissan Maxima eastbound on Ridge Road when he swerved to avoid a vehicle. He reportedly lost control and went off the road, according to reports.
The Maxima struck a large landscaping rock in front of 308 Ridge Road and became airborne, according to reports. While in the air, the rear of the vehicle reportedly flipped over the front as it struck a commercial business sign. The Nissan came to rest, overturned on the front lawn of 306 Ridge Road and caught fire, police said.
A passing Fed Ex driver, Anthony Lanza of North Brunswick, who was traveling westbound on Ridge Road, witnessed the crash and immediately headed to the overturned Nissan, police said. Lanza opened the passenger’s side and saw the driver bleeding, and assisted in getting him out and away from the car, according to police.
Lanza returned to his Fed Ex truck, retrieved a fire extinguisher and put out the fire, police said.
“It is clear Mr. Lanza’s actions prevented this crash from becoming a tragedy. The impact of the crash was so forceful it pushed a thousand pound landscaping rock 15 feet and caused the Nissan’s gas tank to rupture. Mr. Lanza got the driver away from the vehicle and stopped the fire from spreading to the ruptured gas tank. Mr. Lanza put his own safety at risk in rescuing the injured driver. The first officer was on scene of the crash in less than a minute, but seconds count and Mr. Lanza made all the difference,” Police Chief Raymond Hayducka said.
The driver was taken by Monmouth Junction First Aid Squad to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for treatment. The Monmouth Junction Fire Department also responded to the call.
The accident remains under investigation.