Suspected Drunk Driver Facing Additional Charges

The driver of the vehicle who police say that resulted in injuries to four people was charged criminally Friday.

Police say Bryan Vanderburgh, 27, was drunk when he ran a red light at the intersection of routes 70 and 88 early Thursday morning, crashing into another vehicle and damaging a third.

Vanderburgh was charged Friday with three counts of aggravated assault with an automobile, Brick Police Capt. John Rein said.

The charges, Rein said, are the result of an ongoing investigation into the 1:49 a.m. accident and based on the fact that the investigation showed Vanderburgh was intoxicated at the time of the crash, as well as the severity of the injuries suffered by three of the accident victims.

Police say Vanderburgh was driving a 2012 Nisssan Frontier pickup and violated the red light signal as he was traveling eastbound on Route 70, approaching the Laurelton exchange. His vehicle struck a 1994 Acura Integra driven by Edwin Triana, 28, of Toms River, who was proceeding through the intersection on Route 88 in the westbound direction.

Triana sustained multiple fractures to his lower right leg and laceration to the back of his head. A passenger, Anthony G. Nieves, 25, of Jackson, sustained a head laceration and another passenger, Brian J. Unglert, 28, of Hoboken, suffered from a broken shoulder and a possible broken collarbone.

A third vehicle was damaged by flying debris, but its driver was not injured.

Vanderburgh was arrested at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Rein said. The criminal charges have been filed in addition to several motor vehicle offenses charged at the scene, which include DWI, reckless driving, careless driving, failure to observe a traffic signal and failure to wear a seatbelt.

Brick Municipal Court Judge Robert Lepore set bail at $30,000. A check of jail records early Saturday morning showed Vanderburgh was not being held at the Ocean County Jail.