Shawn Morrison, 27, of North Brunswick, drove on a section of the highway that police had blocked off and nearly hit South Brunswick Police Sgt. Mike Rogers.
Shawn Morrison, 27 (South Brunswick Police) SOUTH BRUNSWICK -- A suspected drunk driver nearly struck a police officer at the scene of a serious crash on Route 1 Friday, South Brunswick police said.
Shawn Morrison, 27, of North Brunswick, drove on a section of the highway that police had blocked off and nearly hit South Brunswick Police Sgt. Mike Rogers at about 6 a.m., police said. Rogers was on foot at the time
Route 1 was closed in both directions from Henderson Road to Beekman Road because police, fire, and EMS were treating people injured in a two-vehicle crash at Route 1 and Deans Lane, police said.
Officials said that 8 people were hospitalized as a result of the crash, which occurred around 5:15 a.m. and closed Route 1 north for six hours Friday.
MORE: 2 Ocean County youths 'extremely critical' after Route 1 crash
Emergency workers were in the highway's northbound lanes, and Morrison drove his Nissan Maxima around a police car blocking the southbound lanes at Henderson Road, officials said.
As the Maxima drove southbound, Rogers had to move out of the roadway to avoid being struck, police said.
Rogers then jumped into his patrol car and went after Morrison, stopping him at New Road, police said. The officer found Morrison was allegedly intoxicated and in possession of marijuana, officials said.
Police charged Morrison with a number of charges, including possession of marijuana, driving while intoxicated, refusal to submit to a breathalyzer, reckless driving, failing to obey officers' signals, failure to keep right, driving on a closed roadwaycand failure to maintain a lane.
Morrison was later released pending his first court appearance, officials said.
Laura Herzog may be reached at lherzog@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LauraHerzogL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
