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Middlesex County · Corridor

Truck Crashes on Route 18 in Middlesex County

Route 18 through New Brunswick and East Brunswick has no shoulders, jughandle turns and a long NJDOT work zone since 2023. The report is with the town police, and a crash inside the work zone can add the contractor and the State, with a 90-day notice deadline.

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Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, P.C. · Edison · New Brunswick · Perth Amboy · AVAILABLE 24/7

178

reportable truck and bus crashes on Route 18 in Middlesex; 2 fatal, 80 people injured

2021–2025, FMCSA crash file

99

of those crashes were coded to East Brunswick; New Brunswick 35, Piscataway 28

2021–2025, FMCSA crash file

1 of 178

Route 18 truck crash reports were filed by the State Police; the rest were town police

2021–2025, FMCSA crash file

This page covers why Route 18 ranks where it does, what the crash data shows, 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

NJDOT high-crash corridor

A 2.0-mile “NJ Route 18, Middlesex” segment is on NJDOT's statewide list of 20 high-crash truck corridors: 480 crashes, 65 involving trucks, 144 people injured. Its crash rate of 1.813 is among the highest on that list.

NJDOT 2023 Statewide Freight Plan, 2019 data

Freight hotspot

“NJ 18 East Brunswick,” mileposts 37.86 to 40.06, is one of the 11 freight land-use truck-crash hotspots NJDOT analyzed, with 45 truck crashes.

NJDOT 2023 Statewide Freight Plan, 2019 data

Design

Three lanes in each direction, no shoulders, and jughandles for left turns. A disabled vehicle or a crash blocks a travel lane immediately.

NJDOT, Route 18 East Brunswick Drainage and Pavement Rehabilitation

Construction

NJDOT's drainage and pavement rehabilitation covers mileposts 35.40 to 39.54 plus the Cranbury Road and Milltown Road interchanges. Work began in January 2023. Substantial completion was “anticipated in summer 2026”; confirm the current status before publishing.

NJDOT project page

Spillover

The county's 2025 road safety audit noted the project shifting traffic onto Ryders Lane.

Middlesex County Road Safety Audits Final Report, June 30, 2025

Where it goes

Route 18 connects Turnpike Exit 9 with Route 1 and New Brunswick, and continues to Piscataway. Fatal large-truck crashes in Middlesex were most often front-to-rear collisions (16 of 49) and most often in the dark (28 of 49).

2019–2024, NHTSA FARS

Recent crashes on Route 18

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

  • March 8, 2026, Route 18 at Paulus Boulevard, New Brunswick: a tractor-trailer collided with a car; a third vehicle was also involved. The car's driver was critically injured, treated first at JFK University Medical Center in Edison and transferred to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. New Brunswick Police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office investigated. No charges had been filed as of March 10, 2026.
  • April 30, 2025, East Brunswick: a fatal crash involving a box truck (FMCSA crash file).
  • July 25, 2024, 2 a.m., Route 18 at South Woodland Avenue, East Brunswick: a cyclist was struck by a dump truck on a lit section and died (NHTSA FARS, 2024 preliminary). It is the only fatal crash involving a large truck on Route 18 in the 2019–2024 federal file.

Across 2021–2025, 2 of the 178 reportable truck and bus crashes on Route 18 were fatal and 63 involved an injury, with 80 people hurt (FMCSA crash file).

The transfer pattern in the Paulus Boulevard crash is typical for serious injuries in Middlesex. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick is the only state-designated trauma center in the county (Level I, on the NJ Department of Health list dated June 6, 2024), so patients first treated at JFK, Saint Peter's or Raritan Bay are often moved there.

Who patrols it and where the report comes from

Who files the report

Town police. East Brunswick, New Brunswick and Piscataway police wrote nearly all Route 18 truck crash reports in 2021–2025; the State Police wrote 1 of 178.

FMCSA crash file, reporting agency field

East Brunswick Police

Records Bureau, 1 Jean Walling Civic Center Drive. Reports in person or on CrashDocs (crashes before December 1, 2018 are on LexisNexis), usually ready within 7 business days. Records 732-390-6922. Requesters who were not involved fill out a DPPA form.

East Brunswick Township, verified September 2026

New Brunswick Police

Records Bureau, 25 Kirkpatrick Street. In person, by mail, by email or on LexisNexis BuyCrash. $0.05 per letter page; add $5 if not requested in person; cash only at the window. Records (732) 745-5212, records@nbpdnj.org.

New Brunswick PD, verified September 2026

Piscataway Police

Reports on CrashDocs.org, about 5–7 days to post. Questions (732) 562-2309.

Piscataway Township, verified September 2026

Rutgers campus roads

Rutgers University Police, 55 Paul Robeson Boulevard, New Brunswick, (848) 932-6512. Reports on LexisNexis BuyCrash, usually 5–7 days.

Rutgers University Police

Fatal and serious crashes

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office co-investigates, as at Paulus Boulevard. 25 Kirkpatrick Street, 3rd Floor, New Brunswick, (732) 745-3300; Fatal Crash Unit 732-745-4328.

MCPO, verified September 2026

Work-zone code

The NJTR-1 lists “55 – improper work zone” among the apparent contributing circumstances (Boxes 118–119). If the crash was inside the construction limits, that box is worth checking.

NJTR-1 Crash Report Manual, 2017

What's hard to do alone

  • A work-zone crash adds parties and a deadline. The contractor's traffic-control plan, lane-shift schedule and daily logs matter, and so does NJDOT's. A claim against the State or any public entity requires a notice of claim within 90 days of the crash (N.J.S.A. 59:8-8), with limits on damages and no punitive damages.
  • No shoulder means every stop is in a lane. Whether a truck was disabled, queued or working, the carrier's dispatch and breakdown records explain why it was there, and the carrier keeps them on its own schedule.
  • State-highway cameras. Route 18 is NJDOT's road. Camera video must be requested electronically and received within seven calendar days, at $100 per camera for the first three hours.
  • Two agencies, one file. When the Prosecutor's Office is involved, the town's report and the prosecutor's file are separate, and the prosecutor controls the second one while charges are pending.

“That mindset, combined with fast evidence work and clear communication, helps you move forward while we protect the value of your claim.”

Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, P.C.

Related pages

Evidence deadlines

The 7-day camera window, 180-day body-cam retention and 6-month log retention, and who sends the letters.

Read more →

Where your case is heard

Middlesex County Superior Court at 56 Paterson Street, and when a public entity changes the venue rule.

Read more →

Dump, garbage and construction trucks

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

381 dump bodies in county crashes Read more →

Turnpike Exits 8A–9

Where Route 18 meets the Turnpike at Exit 9.

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

What GGL does for you here

  • Files the NJDOT traffic-camera request within seven calendar days and requests the work-zone traffic-control plan and contractor records by OPRA
  • Files the 90-day Tort Claims notice when the State, the county or a contractor working for them is a party
  • Orders the East Brunswick, New Brunswick or Piscataway report and reads the carrier boxes to identify the responsible carrier and its insurer
  • Sends the trucking company a preservation letter for logs, engine data, dashcam and driver files
  • Coordinates your medical bills under your own auto policy's PIP while you recover

Call Today For A Free Consultation

If you were hurt in a truck crash on Route 18, call (201) 252-7848. Our attorneys can come to you. No Fee Unless GGL Wins.

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