Truck Driver Charged In Crash That Seriously Injured South Brunswick Teens: PD

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A truck driver was charged with two counts of assault by auto after a crash that seriously injured two South Brunswick teens, Police Chief Raymond Hayducka announced Monday.

On Nov. 30, at 10:31 p.m., Rusian Naumyk, 49, was driving a tractor-trailer northbound on Route 1 at Route 522, when he failed to stop for a red traffic light and was struck by a Honda Accord traveling westbound on Route 522, police said.

The driver of the Accord, a 58-year-old South Brunswick dad, and his two passengers, both 16-year-olds, were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. The 16-year-olds suffered serious injuries, but are expected to make a full recovery, police said.

According to an investigation by Officer Tyler Harpster and Traffic Safety Bureau PFC Mike Leung, the traffic light had been red for Route 1 for six seconds at the time of the collision. The investigation found that the truck driver made no attempt to brake before the crash and would have been over 450 feet away from the intersection when the light changed to red, police said.

The investigation found Naumyk was reckless in his operation of the tractor-trailer, police said.

“The lack of attention by so many drivers is one of the leading causes of crashes around this state. This crash shows how being distracted driving can create disaster,” Hayducka said.

“The investigators determined the truck would have been over a football field away from the intersection when the light turned red, but the truck driver never stopped. Now the driver faces criminal charges and the victims face a long recovery.”

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