SUV Swerves Off Road Near Millstone River

Princeton Township police are currently on the scene investigating an accident in which a sport utility vehicle veered off Route 27, plummeted down an embankment and nearly ended up in the Millstone River.

“The bumper got caught up on a stone wall and a small tree. Otherwise the vehicle would have gone into the water,” Princeton Fire Chief Dan Tomalin said.

The single-vehicle accident occurred along Route 27 (Princeton-Kingston Road), near River Road and the township’s border with South Brunswick and Franklin townships, about 5:10 p.m. today (Friday, July 8). It was raining at the time.

Tomalin said the vehicle went over a guardrail and dropped 6 to 8 feet down the embankment before becoming lodged on the tree and stone wall.

Princeton Fire Department Deputy Chief Roy James happened upon the crash not long after it happened. He immediately radioed for a “rescue assignment” response from the fire department, Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad, and township police, Tomalin said.

As it happened, Tomalin said, the SUV’s female driver crawled out of the wreckage on her own and made her way up the embankment prior to the arrival of rescuers.

The 39-year-old woman, complaining of chest pains and difficulty breathing, was rushed by ambulance to University Medical Center at Princeton, the fire chief said.

As of 6 p.m., police and firefighters were still on the scene and a tow truck operator was trying to determine the best way to pull the vehicle up the embankment and over the guardrail.