Somerset Woman Drives Into Rt. 1 Retention Pond In South Brunswick

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A Somerset woman swerved to avoid an accident and accidentally drove into a retention pond Friday morning on Rt. 1, South Brunswick police said. The accident happened in front of the Islamic Society of Central New Jersey on Rt. 1 in South Brunswick Township.

Stephanie Trent, 42, of Somerset, was driving a 2013 Honda Accord south on Rt. 1 at 8:30 a.m. She swerved to avoid a collision in front of her and ran off the highway. Trent exited the shoulder of the road, crashed into a fence and landed in a retention pond in front of the Central Jersey Islamic Center, police said. Her car immediately became submerged in eight feet of water.

Incredibly, the driver who was involved in the first crash, Edgor Yudkin of Jersey City, jumped into the pond and swam to help Trent getting out of the vehicle. The woman later told police she was having difficulty getting out of the rapidly sinking car.

She was taken by South Brunswick EMS to St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick for treatment of minor injuries.