Driver Indicted in Fatal Route 1 Crash

An Edison man was indicted yesterday on charges that he caused a crash on Route 1 that killed a resident of China, who was in town for his daughter's college graduation.

Jimmy Jung, 56, was indicted Thursday by a Middlesex County Grand Jury on the charge of vehicular manslaughter.

Chunhua Jin, 53, of Shanghai, China, was killed while he was a passenger in a minivan driven by Jung, which struck the rear of a dump truck near the intersection of Route 1 and Henderson Road on May 3, 2012.

Jung was hired to transport Jin and his family from a Lawrenceville hotel to LaGuardia Airport. The family was in the area for their daughter’s graduation at Rider University and was flying home to China. 

At 4:02 a.m., the minivan driven by Jung was headed north on Route 1 when it crashed into the rear of a 2002 Mac Truck driven by Otis G. Roberts Jr., 71, of Ewing. 

Police said the Mack truck was stopped at a red light when it was struck from behind by Jung. 

Jin, who was sitting in the back seat of the vehicle, died on impact. Jin's wife Juing Zhang, 52, his daughter Xiaoyun Jin, 21, and his grandson Yiwei Jin, 7, all from Shanghai, China, were also injured in the crash.

All three were transported by paramedics to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Xiaoyun Jin was treated and released. Juing Zhang and Yiwei Jin were admitted to the hospital in stable condition, police said. 

The accident was investigated by the South Brunswick Police Traffic Safety Bureau and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.