Crime & Safety

Motorist Freed From Flipped Car After Driving Off Roadway

The accident closed LaFayette Avenue for four hours.

A North Brunswick man was extricated from his flipped vehicle on Wednesday after a two-car collision off Lafayette Avenue.

Joshua Lee, 48, told police he drove off the road when he couldn’t stop his 2005 Toyota Corolla, but the motorist ended up hitting a tree, overturning and colliding with a 17-year-old Morristown motorist.

Witnesses told Officer Collin Birch that Lee was speeding west on LaFayette Avenue, beeping his horn with his emergency lights on when he left the road, according to the police report.

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The 17-year-old Morristown motorist was driving in front of Lee and was the one that noticed the accident and called 911.

She was going west on LaFayette Avenue “when she heard a crash” behind her. “When she looked back, she saw a tree branch in the roadway and believed her (car) had been struck by a tree. She then realized that her back window had been shattered and (saw Lee’s car) behind her on its roof and immediately dialed 911,” said Birch in the police report.

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Lee, who was transported to Morristown Medical Center, told police that he heard a “pop” and when he tried to brake, they didn’t work so he tried to use his parking brake, which did not slow down the car, so he turned on his flashers and honked his horn, according to the police report.

“Knowing that he was unable to stop his vehicle, he decided to drive it off the roadway in an attempt to stop it,” Birch wrote.

When police investigated the accident, they “found both rear wheels (of Lee’s car) spun freely confirming that the parking although engaged did not lock the rear wheels.”

The front brake pads and the left front and both rear brake lines were fine and when police checked the accelerator pedal, they “found that it was not stuck.”

The collision temporarily closed Lafayette Avenue between Ridgedale Avenue and Route 287, and cars were blocked from using the southbound exit ramp from 287 onto Lafayette.

Did you get a photo of this accident? Send it over to Kim@patch.com or text it to 845-891-6816. Thanks!


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