Route 1 crash leaves three young people critically injured

A two-car crash on Route 1 that left three people critically injured on Friday may have been caused by a driver using a cellphone, the South Brunswick Township Police Department reported.

In their preliminary investigation, the report stated that a Nissan Sentra carrying five occupants was crossing over Route 1 toward Deans Lane when it was broadsided by a Nissan Quest minivan.  There are some signs that the driver of the Sentra may have been distracted by a cellphone and run a red light, the report said.

The Monmouth Junction Fire Department used the Jaws of Life to extricate the five occupants of the Sentra, aged 12 to 27, who were trapped inside the car. The three occupants of the minivan included a husband and wife age 59 from North Brunswick and an adult relative.

First Aid Squads from Monmouth Junction, Kendall Park, Kingston, and North Brunswick, along with paramedics from Robert Wood Johnson University and JFK hospitals, treated the injured. Seven of the occupants were transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and one to St. Peter’s University Hospital.

Portions of Route 1 were closed for six hours as police investigated the crash. There are no indications that alcohol was involved in the crash, which was reported at 5:13 a.m.

The South Brunswick Police Department, with the assistance of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, is investigating the accident.