Four teens escape as vehicles sink in West Windsor pond

by Michael Ratcliffe/The Times

Wednesday November 19, 2008, 10:36 PM

WEST WINDSOR -- Four teenage boys "miraculously" escaped serious injury Wednesday when the two vehicles in which they were traveling veered off Conover Road -- missing a utility pole by about a foot -- and sank out of sight in the frigid water of a pond on the Mercer Oaks East golf course, police and emergency officials said.

The four boys -- all 17-year-old township residents whose names were not released -- were able to get out of the vehicles before they became submerged and were able to swim to shore. Two were treated at the scene for "minor injuries," and all four were sent home with their parents, police said.

Trenton Fire Department SCUBA divers were called out to search the large, 10-foot-deep pond for the vehicles and attach cables to them so they could be pulled from the water by tow trucks.

While the crash remains under investigation by Officers Frank Latorre and Lee Evans, township police Lt. Carl Walsh said "speed and driver inexperience" were certainly factors in the crash.

Michael Ratcliffe/The TimesTrenton Fire Department diver Gary Szabo looks on as a tow truck removes a car from the pond next to the 13th green at the Mercer Oaks East golf course in West Windsor Wednesday. Four teenagers escaped unharmed when two vehicles crashed into the pond.

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Driver receives summons after his auto overturns in Hopewell

by Alex Zdan/The Times

Wednesday November 19, 2008, 10:29 PM

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP -- Two teens were hurt after the car they were riding in went out of control and overturned Tuesday evening, police reported.

Police said two unidentified township males, the 17-year-old driver and a 16-year-old passenger, were traveling eastbound on Pennington-Titusville Road just after 6 p.m. when the car's passenger-side tires hit the gravel shoulder of the road, the driver attempted to steer back toward the left and lost control of the vehicle.

The car crossed into the westbound lane and went off the roadway, where it hit a drainage ditch. The auto then rolled over and slid along the road for about 150 feet.

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Route 571 closed for over 7 hours following crash in West Windsor

by The Times

Friday November 14, 2008, 10:02 PM

WEST WINDSOR -- A township woman and three of her four children were injured when their vehicle crashed into a utility pole and flipped over on Route 571 Friday, police said.

The crash snapped the utility pole in half, dropping electrical wires onto the road and forcing police to shut Route 571 for more than seven hours.

Lt. Carl Walsh said the accident occurred about 12:15 p.m. when Sanja Dimic, 43, of West Windsor, lost control of her vehicle while driving west on Route 571 (Princeton-Hightstown Road), about 600 feet east of Rabbit Hill Road.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by Officer Lee Evans, but it appears Dimic was driving too fast along the rain-slick roadway, he said.

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Lawrence police catch Yardley man who allegedly fled crash scene

by Kevin Shea/The Times

Friday November 14, 2008, 6:28 PM

LAWRENCE -- A Yardley, Pa. man allegedly fled a motor-vehicle collision on Princeton Pike Friday afternoon, then was pulled over by police officers in front of police headquarters.

Jonathan R. Oerth, 20, was allegedly under the influence of alcohol or drugs when he collided with a car driven by Lissette Barrios, 22, of Trenton, at about 2:45 p.m., police said.

Police said Oerth was pulling out of a gasoline station at Princeton Pike and Route 206 and slammed into Barrios' car, which was southbound, but then kept driving.

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Route 571 closed in West Windsor following crash

by Kevin Shea/The Times

Friday November 14, 2008, 5:15 PM

WEST WINDSOR -- Route 571 remains closed between Rabbit Hill Road and Southfield Road at 4 p.m. following a motor-vehicle crash that occurred at about 12:30 p.m. Friday.

A van flipped over and brought down utility lines onto Route 571, police said. Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) crews remain on the scene.

At least one person was seriously injured in the crash and had to be cut free by first responders.

Check back for more on this story.

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Rt. 29 ramp from Lalor Street closed

by The Times

Friday November 14, 2008, 9:49 AM

TRENTON -- The northbound entrance ramp to Route 29 from Lalor Street is closed for construction work until 3:30 p.m. Friday. A detour is posted.

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Two injured in head-on collision in Hamilton

by Michael Ratcliffe/The Times

Thursday November 13, 2008, 9:47 PM

HAMILTON -- A two-car collision that injured both drivers is under investigation by township police and the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.

The accident occurred about 7:30 a.m. Thursday on Nottingham Way near Whitehorse-Hamilton Square Road.

Police said Jason Marinko, 30, of Hamilton, was driving eastbound on Nottingham Way when his car swerved into the oncoming lane and collided head-on with the car being driven by Andrew Laverty, 27, of Robbinsville.

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Lawrence accident under investigation by police

by Alex Zdan/The Times

Tuesday November 11, 2008, 7:36 PM

LAWRENCE -- A crash between a bus and a truck Monday morning left several passengers and the bus driver with minor injuries, police said.

Just before 10:50 a.m., 58-year-old Sylvia Carthans was driving a NJ Transit bus northbound on Princeton Avenue. A truck driven by 32-year-old Lawrence resident Walter Bonczkiewicz Jr. was trying to make a right turn from Helen Avenue onto Princeton Avenue at the same time.

Police say it is not known whether the bus or the truck crossed the yellow line in the roadway, resulting in the collision.

Of the 24 passengers on the bus, seven complained of back pain and three were taken to the hospital. Carthans complained of pain in her right shoulder but refused medical attention, while Bonczkiewicz was uninjured, police said.

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Fallen tree, wires snarl traffic on Rt. 29 in Hopewell Twp.

by The Times

Thursday November 06, 2008, 9:11 AM

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP -- A downed tree and wires are causing detours on Route 29 in both directions south of Church Road in the township's Titusville section.

Allow extra travel time.

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1 driver still hospitalized after accident on I-195 in Hamilton

by Kevin Shea/The Times

Thursday October 30, 2008, 9:41 PM

HAMILTON -- Authorities on Thursday identified the two drivers in the Interstate 195 wreck Wednesday evening that led to a fuel spill on the highway's median.

Tractor-trailer driver Daniel Durnell of Palmyra was in stable condition Thursday at Capital Health System at Fuld hospital in Trenton, officials said. No age was given for Durnell

And Cynthia Hotchkin, 52, of Hamilton's Yardville section, who was driving a car, was released from Fuld hospital in Trenton Thursday, officials said. Hotchkin was ejected from her car in the crash.

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Cleanup of spilled fuel continues on Interstate 195

by The Times

Wednesday October 29, 2008, 10:58 PM

HAMILTON -- While all lanes of Interstate 195 have been reopened to traffic, efforts to clean up more than 100 gallons of spilled diesel fuel continue, state police said.

The fuel was spilled after a car collided with a tractor-trailer about 5:40 p.m. Wednesday along the westbound side of I-195 at Exit 5 (Route 130). (See earlier report)

The female driver of the car was ejected during the crash, state police said. Both she and the tractor-trailer's male driver, who was also hurt, were taken by ambulance to Capital Health System at Fuld hospital in Trenton. While serious, their injuries were not considered life-threatening, state police said.

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Accident, fuel spill has traffic backed up on I-195 in Hamilton

by The Times

Wednesday October 29, 2008, 6:31 PM

HAMILTON -- A multi-vehicle accident has disrupted traffic along Interstate 195 near the Exit 5 interchange with Route 130.

State Department of Transportation officials are reporting that traffic along the westbound side of the interstate is backed up in excess of three miles.

The accident occurred about 5:45 p.m.

One of the vehicles involved in the accident is a large truck that suffered a rupture to its fuel tank, according to emergency officials, who said dozens of gallons of diesel fuel are feared to have leaked from the tank.

Hamilton's hazardous materials team and several fire companies are on the scene dealing with the fuel spill.

At least one person injured in the crash has been transported by ambulance to Capital Health System at Fuld, the Trenton hospital that serves as the region's trauma center.

New Jersey Department of TransportationThis image from a NJ DOT traffic camera shows the accident scene on the westbound side of Interstate 195, near Exit 5, in Hamilton.

New Jersey Department of TransportationAnother NJ DOT traffic camera view of the accident scene.

New Jersey Department of TransportationThis NJ DOT traffic camera photo shows the traffic backup caused by the accident.

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Tyburn Road bridges to be rebuilt

by Central Jersey News Updates

Wednesday October 29, 2008, 9:15 AM

FALLS, Pa. -- Six bridges on Tyburn road, each more than 50 years old, will be rebuilt beginning in 2010 at a total cost of $15 million, a PennDot spokesman said.

The bridges, all east of Route 13, are used by about 1,200 trucks daily, many of which are going to or from nearby GROWS landfill, the Bucks County Courier Times reported.

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Downed wires close Route 206 in Princeton

by Alex Zdan/The Times

Tuesday October 28, 2008, 11:14 AM

PRINCETON BOROUGH -- A section of Route 206 is closed because of downed wires. Police are diverting traffic onto Cherry Valley Road, as 206 is closed between Cherry Hill and Arreton roads. Police say the downed wires are not the result of an accident.

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Traffic control talks in Hamilton

by Ryan Tracy/The Times

Monday October 27, 2008, 10:12 PM

HAMILTON -- Stop signs removed this year from the Broad Street Park and Lalor Tract sections of Hamilton will not be returning, Mayor John Bencivengo told a crowd of more than 30 neighborhood residents Monday night.

At a forum on traffic issues in the Lalor Elementary School auditorium, Bencivengo and other township officials vowed to study other options to reduce speeding in the area and to call another meeting in approximately two weeks.

Residents' reactions were mixed about the stop signs, which once stood at six intersections along Bow Hill and Schiller avenues. The signs were among dozens installed throughout the township without the required approval of the state Department of Transportation.

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