Car Plunges off Rt 1 into retention pond after dodging crash

A Somerset resident was driving her 2013 Honda Accord heading south on Route 1 near Route 522 in South Brunswick Friday morning at about 8:30 a.m. when she swerved to avoid a crash happening in front of her and ran off the highway, police said.

Stephanie Trent, 42, left the shoulder of the road, crashed into a fence, and landed 20 feet down from the road in a retention pond in front of the Central Jersey Islamic Center. The car was submerged in eight feet of water.

A driver who was involved in the first crash, Edgor Yudkin of Jersey City, jumped into the pond and swam to assist Trent to get out of the the vehicle. Trent was transported to St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick by the Brunswick EMS for treatment of minor injuries.

Traffic was limited to one lane of travel for about 30 minutes as a result of the crash. It took Georges Towing two hours to remove the vehicle from the pond, police said.