UPDATE (7/1):Â SBPD produced the crash report identifying the victim as Denise Phipps of Monmouth Junction, and the driver as Robert Owens IV of Piscataway.
SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ–Local police used their Nixle emergency alert system to inform the public of an fatal crash that occurred on Route 1 on the night of June 16.
“Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Chief Raymond Hayducka of the South Brunswick Police Department [SBPD] said today that a Middlesex County woman was struck and killed by a vehicle on Route 1 Thursday night,” read the statement sent to the public by the SBPD.
As we reported in 2014, Route 1 is one of the tri-state area’s deadliest highways for pedestrians.
The latest fatal incident led to the closure of the northbound lanes on the major highway for about five hours, according to authorities.
Oddly, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO) did not issue a press release on the fatality, despite being named in the SBPD statement, which followed prior Nixle alerts about the road’s closure and re-opening.
The statement also did not identify the driver or the victim by name, instead only referring to them by a combination of their age, gender, and hometown.
“An investigation by officers with South Brunswick Police Traffic Safety Bureau and detectives from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office determined that the 65 year old woman was crossing Route 1 at Deans Lane at 9:56 pm,” reads the Nixle alert.
“The woman was walking across the northbound lanes of Route 1 when she was struck by 2016 Subaru Impreza driven by a 30 year old Piscataway man,” the alert continues, adding that the woman “was pronounced dead at the scene.”
The statement did not make any mention of whether the vehicle or the pedestrian had the right of way, but it did indicate that the driver “stopped at the scene.” Â No charges have been filed, according to the statement.
The statement said that paramedics from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, as well as staff at the Monmouth Junction First Aid Squad, Monmouth Junction Fire Department, New Jersey Department of Transportation, and the Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office all responded to the call.
“Investigators have spoken to some witnesses,” reads the statement, but it also says the investigation is ongoing. Â Anyone with information is asked to contact South Brunswick Police Traffic Safety Officer Jesse Blake at (732) 329-4000 ext. 7472.
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.
