Driver Arrested Following 3-Car Collision on Route 1

A three-vehicle collision in the northbound lanes of Route 1 (Brunswick Pike) at the intersection with Bakers Basin Road injured two of the drivers, led to the arrest of the third driver, and brought traffic to a standstill in Lawrence Township this afternoon (Wednesday, April 25).

Township police Sgt. Michael Yeh said the accident, which was reported at 3:23 p.m., occurred when the 2005 Bentley being driven in the left northbound of Route 1 by Jessica Burkes, 28, of Beverly City, Burlington County, slammed into the rear of a 2002 BMW that was stopped in the left northbound lane for a red light at the intersection.

After that impact, Burkes’ Bentley glanced off the BMW and crashed into the driver’s side of a 1999 Ford Taurus that was coming to a stop for the red light in the right northbound lane, Yeh said.

He said the driver of the Ford, 63-year-old William York of Trenton, was trapped in the wreckage. Township career and volunteer firefighters had to cut away both doors on the driver’s side of the Ford to extricate York.

Once freed from the car, York was rushed by ambulance to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, where he was receiving treatment for head and back injuries, Yeh said.

The driver of the BMW, 54-year-old Kirt Niedrist of Langhorne, Pa., complained of pain after the accident and told police he planned to seek treatment on his own at St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown, Pa., according to Yeh.

Neither Burkes nor her passenger – Malcolm Byer, 38, of Teaneck – was injured, he added.

Burkes was arrested at the accident scene after police learned she was wanted in connection with an outstanding warrant from Trenton, Yeh said.

He said Officer Robert Wagner investigated the accident and issued Burkes multiple tickets, including careless driving and operating a vehicle with a suspended driver’s license.

Any witnesses to the crash are encouraged to call Wagner at (609) 896-1111.

Both northbound lanes of Route 1 were closed for about a half-hour as a result of the crash. The left lane was reopened to traffic after the rescue of York was completed, but the right lane remained closed for another half-hour or so while tow trucks worked to remove the wrecked cars and debris.