Driver Crashes into Pedestrian Crosswalk Sign, Overturns Vehicle on Route 518 in Rocky Hill

By Barbara A. Preston | Posted September 3, 2023

A passerby discovered an overturned vehicle on Route 518 at Merritt Lane and a young man standing on the roadside in Rocky Hill on Saturday, September 2 at 2:45 am. The driver said he may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

The driver was taken to the hospital after a single-car crash on Route 518 and Merritt Lane in Rocky Hill. Photo courtesy of the Rocky Hill Fire Department.

The NJ State Police told The Montgomey News that a Dodge Charger ran off the road and overturned.  The driver sustained non-life threatening injuries and was transported to an area hospital.  No summons have been issued at this time. 

The Rocky Hill Fire Department and Montgomery Township Volunteer Fire Company No. 2 both responded to the accident. The Rocky Hill First Aid Squad said the driver was the only person in the vehicle. The squad evaluated the driver at the scene and transported him to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. The extent of the injuries are unknown, but the driver did manage to extricate himself from the vehicle on his own.

That was when Rocky Hill resident Billy Dawson was driving to work at 2:45 am on Saturday when he encountered the accident and made a video of the scene, which he posted on social media.

"The crosswalk with safety lights at Merritt and 518 that was installed with a public safety grant that [Rocky Hill Borough Council] got approved about five years ago, was demolished at 2:45 am today by this young man that I happened upon on my way to work to, coincidentally, report more traffic accidents."

Dawson is a traffic reporter with KYW 103.9 FM in Philadelphia.

When Dawson asked the driver what happened, the driver replied, “I think I fell asleep.”

"This young fella is lucky to be walking based on the sound it made and the damage," Dawson posted on social media.

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The fire department crews used a quick-drying oil clean-up product to absorb fluids that were leaking from the vehicle. The Rocky Hill Fire Chief also notified the Somerset County Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Team (Hazmat) to address a punctured lithium-ion battery from a struck crosswalk sign.