Driver Ticketed After Crash With South Brunswick Police Car, Cops Say

South Brunswick police said they issued summonses to a driver whose car broadsided a police cruiser this weekend.

Patrolman First Class (PFC) Peter Burdick, who has been on the force for 21 years, was injured in the crash on Route 130 south Saturday morning, according to a news release from Capt. James Ryan.

According to that news release:

At 9:30 a.m., Burdick was on Route 130 south, turning left onto Fresh Ponds Road, when his car was broadsided by a 2011 Honda Sonata headed north on the highway.

That driver, Arpita Shah, 29, of North Brunswick told police she couldn’t stop in time because her brakes were not working properly. She was issued summonses charging her with careless driving, failing to stop for a red traffic signal, and having an unsafe vehicle.

Burdick was taken by South Brunswick EMS to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he was treated for head and back injuries.

“Even the most routine police activity can have risks,” Chief Raymond Hayducka said in a prepared statement. “Luckily, PFC Burdick is recovering at home, but we should never take for granted the efforts officers make everyday to keep our community safe.”