NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—A North Brunswick police cruiser evidently crashed into a tree at the corner of Livingston Avenue and Hale Street earlier this evening, injuring the officer behind the wheel and another individual.
It’s not immediately clear what precipitated the the crash that occurred shortly after 7:30pm, but the accident appears to have involved at least two vehicles.
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UPDATE (5/15):Â North Brunswick Police Captain Roger Reinson said that the officer was driving north on Livingston Avenue and was “en route to one of the local hospitals” as part of an investigation into another auto accident.
“A second vehicle traveling south was attempting to make a left turn and turned into the side of the patrol car… forcing the patrol car into a tree,” Reinson told NewBrunswickToday.com.
According to police radio transmissions, New Brunswick officers were summoned to the scene at 7:36pm.
“Need you to go over to Livingston and Hale for a signal 12 [motor vehicle accident with injuries]. Â It’s involving a North Brunswick marked police car,” said a dispatcher.
“EMS from North Brunswick is already on scene but they’re going to need an officer there,” he continued.
The dispatcher later confirmed that the officer was injured and being treated by North Brunswick Township EMS.
At 7:47pm, an ambulance was dispatched by New Brunswick to attend to “the other party involved.” Â According to that dispatcher, the individual was complaining of “a sore back.”
UPDATE (9:39pm): The North Brunswick Police Department confirmed that the officer involved in the accident is OK, but referred all questions to New Brunswick’s Police Department.
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A phone message for the New Brunswick police spokesman was not immediately returned.
Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.
