Traffic Stop Turns Into Suicide Prevention

North Brunswick, NJ - A routine traffic stop for a North Brunswick police officer resulted in him saving another man’s life Sunday morning.

North Brunswick Patrolman Christopher Trokovich pulled over a car on Rt. 27 at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday, police said.

At first, the driver did not stop for the patrol car’s flashing lights and sirens, and Officer Trokovich pursued him down Rt. 27 to Industrial Drive, just past the New Brunswick city line.

After he pulled him over, Trokovich found the man was driving with a suspended license. Even after he was taken out of the car, the man continued to resist arrest and even tried to run off multiple times, running into oncoming traffic and cars, police said.

That’s when something surprising happened: The man turned to Trokovich and told him he was going through a bad time, and he was trying to kill himself.

The man thanked the officer for intervening and preventing him from taking any further action. He was transported to an area hospital for help.

“It goes without saying that every single time we pull someone over, you never know what to expect,” said North Brunswick police spokesman Captain Brian Hoiberg. ”But what this incident really shows is that you can never have a predisposed mindset of what the person inside the car is thinking.”

Hoiberg said he did not know the age of the man, or why he was originally pulled over.

Photo released by North Brunswick police.