FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, NJ (Somerset County) – Authorities are investigating a deadly crash that involved a car that crashed into a canal in Somerset County, according to Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald.
On Aug. 24, at around 12:24 p.m., police responded to a report of a motor vehicle in the Delaware Raritan Canal, located at the intersection of Canal Road and Grouser Road, in Franklin Township, McDonald said.
Officers arriving on scene found damage to the guardrails and several trees and were able to observe a motor vehicle submerged in the water. The vehicle was first observed by a kayaker who reported the submerged vehicle to police, McDonald said.
The Somerset County Prosecutor Office Dive-Rescue Team entered the water and found one occupant inside of the submerged vehicle. The sole occupant, whom authorities have identified as a 31-year-old male from Skillman was removed from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The vehicle was removed from the canal by Mikes Towing and Recovery, McDonald said.
Prosecutor McDonald stated that investigators from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Collision Analysis Reconstruction Team along with Franklin Township Police Traffic Investigators also responded to the scene to conduct the investigation.
A preliminary investigation revealed that a 2024 Honda Civic was traveling westbound on Grouser Road approaching Canal Road. Grouser Road terminates at Canal Road requiring west bound vehicles to turn either right or left, McDonald said.
The driver entered the intersection without stopping and struck the guardrails which caused the vehicle to become airborne. The vehicle struck several road signs and a tree before landing in the canal. The vehicle was found facing east bound and upright, McDonald said.
A post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine the cause and origin of death, McDonald said.
Anyone with information relating to this incident to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office at 908-231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at 732-873-5533.
