UPDATE: Officer, Kendall Park Woman Hospitalized in Route 1 Crash

12:20 p.m.

South Brunswick Police have identified the victims in two Thursday morning accidents that hospitalized a police officer and two other motorists.

The first crash occurred at 1 a.m. at the intersection of Route 1 and Major Road, when a tractor trailer driven by Alvin Nicholson, 62, of Howell, rear ended a tanker truck driven by Edwin Diaz, 49, of Virginia Beach, according to police.

The crash resulted in a large fuel spill that required the northbound lanes of Route 1 to be closed for about five hours. Both drivers were transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

Nicholson was issued a summons for careless driving.

About 45 minutes after the first crash, police said Shawn Frasier, 42, of Kendall Park, drove through the closed road and crashed into a marked South Brunswick police car that was blocking the roadway.

Patrolman Mark Lorenc was sitting in the driver’s seat of the police car at the time of the collision, as his vehicle was shielding emergency personnel working on the first crash.

 First responders were approximately 75-feet away when the patrol car was struck, police said. Lorenc suffered a concussion and back injury in the collision. 

Lorenc was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital by the Monmouth Junction First Aid Squad, where he was treated and released. Police said he is now resting at home.

Frasier was also transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital where she was treated for non-life threatening injuries, according to police.

Investigators determined that Frasier was coming home from Parx Casino in Pennsylvania and that she may have fallen asleep while driving home, police said. Investigators are still examining whether alcohol played a part in the crash.

No summonses have been issued yet, as the investigation is ongoing.

***

8:30 a.m.

Two early morning accidents Thursday injured a police officer and three motorists, while closing the northbound side of Route 1 for five hours.

At 1 a.m., a New York Times tractor trailer slammed into the back of a tanker truck at the intersection of Route 1 and Major Road, according to police. The accident led to a large fuel spill that required pesticides from the tanker truck to be loaded into another truck.

The northbound side of Route 1 was closed as a result of the accident. A South Brunswick Police patrol car was used to block the roadway from the accident to divert traffic onto Major Road.

At 1:47 a.m., police said a 2002 Nissan Altima disregarded the closed roadway and broadsided the patrol car at a high speed.

A 25-year veteran police officer who was not identified was taken by paramedics and the Monmouth Junction First Aid Squad to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Police spokesman Sgt. Jim Ryan said the officer suffered serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

Sgt. Ryan said the driver of the Altima was coming from Parx Casino in Pennsylvania, and investigators are examining whether the driver fell asleep or if alcohol played a role in the crash.

Route 1 was reopened as of 6 a.m.

The Monmouth Junction Fire Department Middlesex County Hazmat, and New Jersey Department of Transportation also responded to the scene. 

This story will be updated as information becomes available.