New Brunswick police vehicle carrying prisoner flips in crash
BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer

Police released this photo of a wrecked New Brunswick police cruiser, hit by a driver who reportedly ran a red light at the corner of Routes 130 and 522 in South Brunswick.

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - A man who ran a red light on Sept. 12 struck a New Brunswick police car transporting a prisoner, causing the vehicle to flip over.

According to police, the accident took place around noon at the intersection of Routes 130 and 522.

Officer Ryan Daughton, 23, was driving a 2005 Dodge Durango northbound on Route 130. Joga Singh, 63, of North Brunswick, was driving a 1993 Honda Civic headed southbound on Route 130. Singh disregarded a red traffic signal and made a left turn at the intersection of Route 522 in front of the Dodge Durango, according to police.

Daughton swerved to avoid colliding with the Civic, but the Civic struck the driver's side of the Durango. The collision caused the Durango to go off the road, hit a light pole and then flip over and impact a utility pole. Daughton and Officer William Liddy, 44, were both able to crawl out from their vehicle.

They were then able to get the rear passenger, Jose Rodriguez, 40, of South Brunswick, out of the vehicle. All three and Singh were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital to be treated for non-lifethreatening injuries. All involved had complained of some neck and back pain after the accident and Singh said that he also had pain in his knee.

Rodriguez was being transported by New Brunswick Police from Camden County to Middlesex County Correction Center in North Brunswick at the time of the accident. According to Detective James Ryan, South Brunswick police public information officer, Rodriguez was being transported to Middlesex County because there had been a previous warrant out for his arrest.

South Brunswick EMS, Kendall Park First Aid, Monroe EMS, and Monmouth Junction Fire Department responded to the accident. Singh was issued two summonses for failure to observe a traffic signal and blocking traffic.

According to Ryan, traffic was backed up for about an hour and a half as a result of the accident.