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The first incident was reported on Friday, Aug. 25 just before 1:30 p.m. at the intersection of Main Street and Dukes Parkway East in Manville, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said.
A 75-year-old Manville woman was heading northbound in the right lane of Main Street in a 2022 Chevrolet Traverse when she ran a red light and struck a 52-year-old East Newark man in a 2018 Mercedes Benz C300 heading eastbound from Dukes Parkway into the shopping center on the northbound side of the road.
The Mercedes then struck a 74-year-old Manville resident driving a 2006 Honda Pilot.
The Chevrolet driver was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead, while the Mercedes driver was airlifted to a local trauma center and pronounced dead, McDonald said. The Honda driver was hospitalized with minor injuries and is expected to recover.
On Sunday, Aug. 27, crews responded to a one-car crash on Somerset Street near Voorhees Avenue in Somerset around 6:20 a.m.
A 29-year-old Somerset man driving a 2007 Audi Q7 was heading southbound on Somerset Street when the vehicle left the roadway and struck several trees, lamp posts, and a utility pole.
A 24-year-old Somerset man was thrown from the back right passenger’s seat, while a 20-year-old North Brunswick man was trapped and required extrication. Both were pronounced dead at the scene, McDonald said.
The driver was taken to a nearby trauma center for treatment of undisclosed injuries and is expected to recover, and a 29-year-old Highland Park man sitting in the front passenger’s seat suffered minor injuries and refused medical attention.
The crashes are being investigated by local police, as well as the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Collision Analysis Reconstruction Team (CART), the Major Crimes Unit, and the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.
Anyone with information about either crash is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutors Office at (908) 231-7100, the Manville Borough Police Department at (908) 722-0089, the Franklin Township Police Department at (732) 873-5533, or use the STOPit app.
“Prosecutor McDonald reminds the public that as we head into the Labor Day weekend to remain vigilant and cautious on all New Jersey roadways,” reads a joint statement from the SCPO. “We want our community members to understand that it is our priority to keep people safe.”
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