SUV Split in Half After Hitting Tree on I-95

A car was split in half after it collided with another vehicle, veered off Interstate 95 and slammed into a tree on Wednesday afternoon in Lawrence.

Amazingly, the car’s female driver survived the crash and is expected to recover from her injuries, police said.

In a separate accident, reported about a half-hour earlier today, more than a half-dozen people were hurt when a small bus loaded with senior citizens collided with another vehicle on Route 1 North near Carnegie Road.

The accident on Interstate 95 south occurred between the Route 1 and Princeton Pike interchanges. Police said they began receiving multiple 911 calls about the crash at 2:25 p.m.  

Lawrence Township police Sgt. Rick Doldy was in the area at the time and soon confirmed that two vehicles, a Honda sport utility and a Buick sedan, had gone off the road into the woods.

Police said preliminary information provided by witnesses suggests the Buick was traveling in the left southbound lane and, while attempted to change into the middle lane, contacted the Honda and both drivers lost control.

But police noted that the exact cause of the accident remains under investigation by state police.      

After leaving the road, the Honda struck a tree. The impact was so powerful, the car was split in two, with the rear section coming to rest several feet away from the front section.

Lawrence Township firefighters had to cut away the driver’s door to free the woman from the mangled wreckage. She was then taken by ambulance to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, police said.

The Buick, meanwhile, also came to rest in the woods but was not significantly damaged; its male driver was not hurt, police said.

The accident at Route 1 North near Carnegie Road was reported at 1:56 p.m. It remains under investigation at this time by Lawrence Township police. 

While at least seven people were transported by ambulance to area hospitals from that collision, their injuries are believed to be minor in nature, police said.