Driver Fatigue Caused South Brunswick Rt. 1 Crash

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Driver fatigue is what caused two tractor trailers to collide Thursday morning on Rt. 1 in South Brunswick, injuring one of the drivers and backing up traffic on Rt. 1 for hours yesterday morning.

At 5:41 a.m. Thursday, tractor trailer driver Michael Luallen, 48, of Baltimore, Maryland was stopped in the right lane of Rt. 1 north at the intersection of Whispering Woods Boulevard. He was stopped for a red traffic light when his tractor was rear-ended by a 2015 Freightliner driven by Yoel Chavez, 37, of Hialeah Gardens, Florida.

Officer Sean Roberts investigated the crash and determined that Chavez had been fatigued and did not realize the first tractor trailer was stopped when he crashed into him. Officer Roberts determined Chavez was trying to make up time as a result of an earlier flat tire on his trip and was tired when he crashed. Chavez was issued a summons for careless driving.

Luallen was transported by Monmouth Junction First Aid Squad to Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center for treatment of none life threatening injuries.

The crash caused multi-mile delays throughout the morning rush hour Thursday.

The extensive cleanup required Rt. 1 north to have only one lane open to traffic from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. As a result, three-mile delays were reported at the height of the morning rush hour.

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