A 17-year-old with a Life-Threatening Head Injury Airlifted to Hospital after a Car Crash on Canal Road

By Barbara A. Preston | Posted Saturday, March 16, 2024 (Updated Monday, March 18)

First responders performed lifesaving efforts on a 17-year-old girl who suffered a serious head injury following a single motor vehicle crash involving four teenage occupants on Canal Road between Coppermine and Old Georgetown roads in Franklin Township on Friday, March 15, at 10:10 pm.

The juveniles are said to be from Hillsborough. The 17-year old was expected to survive as of Monday, according to a source close to the case.

NorthSTAR, operated by NJ State Police, is based at Somerset Airport (KSMQ) in Bedminster. (File photo)

A driver on Canal Road reported the accident to Griggstown Fire Chief Darrell Myers, who had about 16 firefighters on the scene. Myers had requested the landing of New Jersey State Police’s NorthStar helicopter for the 17-year-old female occupant who was transported to a local hospital for treatment of a serious head injury. Two other juvenile occupants were also transported and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. A third juvenile was released to this parents.

The Rocky Hill Fire Department set up helicopter landing site in a field adjacent to the Canal Road crash site.

Care was provided by Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Advanced Life Support (ALS) specialists, Montgomery EMS, Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, Kendall Park Basic Life Support (BLS), and Franklin Township police.

The factors that contributed to the crash are currently under investigation by the Franklin Township Police Department’s Traffic Safety Bureau.

Franklin Township Public Safety Director Quovella M. Maeweather announced that there will be a thorough investigation into this serious motor vehicle crash.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Officer Andre Tirado at

732.873.5533 extension 3230 or at andre.tirado@franklinnj.gov.