Man Trapped After Vehicle Hits Pole on Denow Road

Lawrence Township volunteer firefighters had to extricate a man from the wreckage after the vehicle he was driving slammed into a utility pole on Denow Road this morning, Friday, Dec. 16.

The accident occurred shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Denow Road, just west of Melvina Drive, when the 55-year-old driver lost control – reportedly because of a sneeze – and his vehicle veered off the road and slammed into the pole.

The first arriving police officer found the driver trapped inside the vehicle which, having split the utility pole in half, had come to rest with its front driver’s side wheel resting atop the splintered base of the pole.

Volunteer firefighters from the Lawrenceville, Lawrence Road and Slackwood fire companies responded and cut away the driver’s door to extricate the man.

Once freed from the wreckage, the man was rushed by a Pennington Borough ambulance crew to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton.

The accident remains under investigation at this time by Lawrence Township police.

Update, Dec. 20: Police identified the driver as Jeffrey L. Bowers, 55, of Hardwick Drive, Ewing Township.

Police said Bowers told the investigating officer he sneezed strongly and when he opened his eyes his vehicle was headed straight for the pole and he had no time to stop.

Bowers was issued a ticket for careless driving, police said.