A wrong-way driver on Route 29 in Trenton early Sunday collided with an oncoming vehicle, causing a fiery three-vehicle crash, police said.
Police, fire and EMS units arrived at the scene of the 4:20 a.m. incident near the Calhoun Street exit and found catastrophic damage to three vehicles, two that overturned and one that was on fire, Trenton police Capt. Lisette Rios said.
And an unknown good Samaritan had pulled an unconscious driver from the vehicle that caught fire before police arrived, Rios said.
Police investigators later determined that a 60-year-old Burlington Township woman driving a Toyota SUV was driving south in the northbound lane of Route 29 and slammed into a Jeep Gladiator driven by a 33-year-old city man, Rios said.
That impact sent the Jeep into the middle lane where it was rear-ended by another Jeep, a Cherokee model driven by a 24-year-old man also from Trenton.
Both Jeeps overturned several times before coming to a rest, and the Gladiator’s engine erupted in flames. The Gladiator driver was the person pulled from his vehicle, Rios said.
The Cherokee driver was able to exit his vehicle on his own, while the Gladiator driver was taken to a local hospital but had been released as of Sunday evening.
The Toyota driver was cut free by Trenton firefighters and taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in the city for treatment of life-threatening injuries. She was in critical condition with multiple injuries Sunday evening, Rios said.
Trenton Police Detective Vincent Gribbin is investigating the crash with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Serious Collision Response Team.
Stories by Kevin Shea
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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com