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Middlesex County · Corridor

Truck Crashes on Route 1 in Middlesex County

Route 1 is a highway with traffic lights, jughandles and hundreds of driveways, and the deadliest road for truck crashes in Middlesex: 12 people killed in 8 fatal crashes (2019–2024, NHTSA FARS). The report is almost always with the town police, not the State Police.

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12

people killed in 8 fatal crashes involving a large truck on Route 1, the most of any Middlesex road

2019–2024, NHTSA FARS

449

reportable truck and bus crashes on Route 1, second only to the Turnpike; 8 fatal, 261 people injured

2021–2025, FMCSA crash file

447 of 449

were reported by town police departments, not the State Police

2021–2025, FMCSA crash file

This page covers why Route 1 crashes are so severe, what the data shows town by town, which department has your report, and what has to happen in the first weeks. Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, P.C. handles those steps from offices in Edison, New Brunswick and Perth Amboy.

The road and its trucks

Freight role

NJDOT's freight management system lists several Route 1 segments in Middlesex as freight-priority segments, northbound at mileposts 14–16, 18–20, 32–34, 36–38 and 38–40, and southbound at 16.06–18.06. The Turnpike, US 1 and US 130 are the designated truck routes through the Exit 8A area.

NJDOT 2023 Statewide Freight Plan; Southern Middlesex County Freight Movement Study, 2023

Container traffic

Route 1 has more crashes involving an intermodal container chassis than any other Middlesex road: 36 in 2021–2025.

FMCSA crash file

Crashes by town

Reportable truck and bus crashes on Route 1, 2021–2025: Edison 121, South Brunswick 119, North Brunswick 99, Woodbridge 81.

FMCSA crash file, town names merged

Oversize loads

Overweight and oversize loads need an NJDOT permit, which specifies the route. Whether a permit existed and what route it allowed is a records question in any case involving a wide or heavy load.

NJSP Overweight/Oversize references; NJDOT permits

County plan

Middlesex County adopted a Vision Zero Action Plan in 2022. Its statistics are not reproduced here.

NJTPA Local Safety Action Plans

Recent crashes on Route 1

Crashes are described by date, road, town and vehicle type only. Charges are charges, not findings. Involving a truck does not mean the truck caused the crash.

  • April 12, 2024, morning, Route 1 at Ridge Road (CR 522), South Brunswick: a tractor-trailer carrying an oversized concrete load ran a red light and struck a passenger van. Three people in the van were killed. The truck driver was charged with three counts of aggravated manslaughter and three counts of vehicular homicide. The disposition of those charges has not been checked.
  • January 24, 2024, southbound at New Road, South Brunswick: a rideshare car struck a stopped dump truck. The car's driver and passenger were seriously hurt and treated at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
  • March 14, 2026, northbound near the Plainsboro line, South Brunswick: a tractor-trailer driver, described by police as distracted, hit more than 50 traffic cones, an arrow board and a police car on a traffic assignment. The officer was not hurt.
  • January 24, 2025, South Brunswick: a fatal crash involving a tractor-trailer (FMCSA crash file).

Fatal crashes involving a large truck, 2019–2024 (NHTSA FARS; 2024 preliminary), also include:

  • February 5, 2019, evening, Edison: a pedestrian was struck by a tractor-trailer on an unlit section and died.
  • December 20, 2019, 11:50 p.m., Woodbridge: a rear-end collision with a tractor-trailer. Three people in the other vehicle died.
  • June 16, 2021, morning, Woodbridge: a same-direction sideswipe involving a tractor pulling a cargo tank flagged as hazardous material. One person in another vehicle died.
  • January 3, 2022, after midnight, at Adams Lane, North Brunswick: an angle collision involving a straight truck and a tractor-trailer. A truck occupant died.
  • March 12, 2022, after midnight, South Brunswick: a rear-end collision with a tractor-trailer on an unlit section. One person died.
  • August 23, 2022, evening, South Brunswick: a crash involving a tractor-trailer and another vehicle. One person in the other vehicle died.
  • December 29, 2022, before dawn, North Brunswick: a rear-end collision with a tractor-trailer hauling a refuse trailer. One person died.

Two of the eight fatal Route 1 crashes killed three people each, and six of the eight happened in the dark.

Who patrols it and where the report comes from

Who files the report

Town police. In 2021–2025 the reporting agency on Route 1 was Edison Police 80 times, South Brunswick 79 and North Brunswick 60, with other departments taking the rest. The State Police filed 2 of 449.

FMCSA crash file, reporting agency field

Edison Police

100 Municipal Boulevard, Edison. Reports in person at headquarters, usually ready in 7–10 business days, $0.05 per letter page. Dispatch (732) 248-7400.

Edison Township, verified September 2026

South Brunswick Police

540 Ridge Road, Monmouth Junction. LexisNexis BuyCrash $8, in person $0.05 a page, or mail a $5 check. Records 732-823-3970.

South Brunswick PD, verified September 2026

North Brunswick Police

710 Hermann Road. Reports on CrashDocs.org; the township says they can be downloaded free of charge. 732-247-0922.

North Brunswick Township, verified September 2026

Woodbridge Police

Records Bureau, ground floor of the municipal building, 1 Main Street; crash reports $0.50 per page. Records 732-602-7390.

Woodbridge Township, verified September 2026

Fatal and serious crashes

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office co-investigates with the town, as it did at Ridge Road in 2024. 25 Kirkpatrick Street, New Brunswick, (732) 745-3300; Fatal Crash Unit 732-745-4328. While charges are pending, the prosecutor controls the file.

MCPO, verified September 2026

Every other town

See the town-by-town crash-report guide for New Brunswick, Plainsboro and the rest of the county.

Middlesex County crash-report guide

What's hard to do alone

  • Signal timing and intersection video. Route 1 is a state highway, so NJDOT camera footage must be requested electronically and received by the Department within seven calendar days of the crash, at $100 per camera for the first three hours. Signal-timing records come from NJDOT by OPRA.
  • Oversize-permit and route records. When the load was wide or heavy, the NJDOT permit, the carrier's routing and the escort arrangements are all records someone has to ask for.
  • The criminal case controls the file. When a driver is charged, the Prosecutor's Office holds the investigation through discovery. A civil claimant usually waits or subpoenas the file after suit is filed.
  • Driveway cameras overwrite quickly. Gas stations, dealers and shopping centers line Route 1, and their cameras often caught the crash. Nothing requires them to keep the footage unless someone sends a preservation letter.

“Our New Brunswick attorneys examine whether the trucking company enforced compliance with federal regulations or allowed unsafe driving practices…”

Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, P.C.

Related pages

Tractor-trailers

How crashes with big rigs happen and how fault is proven.

29 of 49 fatal crashes involved a semi Read more →

Dump, garbage and construction trucks

Public truck or private contractor, and why it changes the deadlines.

Read more →

CR 535 and the Exit 8A roads

The warehouse roads that feed Route 1 in South Brunswick.

Read more →
Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, P.C.

What GGL does for you here

  • Files the NJDOT traffic-camera request within seven calendar days and sends preservation letters to businesses whose cameras face the road
  • Requests the oversize-permit and routing records when the load was wide or heavy
  • Orders the town police report and reads the carrier boxes to identify the responsible carrier and its insurer
  • Tracks the Prosecutor's Office case and subpoenas the investigative file once suit is filed
  • Sends the trucking company a preservation letter for logs, engine data, dashcam and driver files

Call Today For A Free Consultation

If you were hurt in a truck crash on Route 1, call (201) 252-7848. Our attorneys can come to you. No Fee Unless GGL Wins.

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