Crime & Safety
Woman Suffered Stroke Before Crash, Daughter Says
Berkeley Heights woman, 81, received careless driving summons in Warren accident earlier this month.
An 81-year-old Berkeley Heights woman charged with careless driving in a head-on crash in Warren earlier this month suffered a stroke at the time of the accident, her daughter told NJ.com.
Joan M. Austra was charged with careless driving, failure to keep right and failure to exhibit documents in the Oct. 5 accident on Hillcrest Road near Emerson Lane.
However, Austra's daughter, Diane, told NJ.com her mother is "lucky to be alive" after suffering a stroke that morning, causing her to cross onto the opposite side of the road and strike a vehicle driven by Jose Azofeifa, 36, of Bridgewater.
Joan Austra was airlifted to Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center in New Brunswick where she remained until Oct. 8 in fair condition, NJ.com reported. Diane Austra said her mother is now at JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison, NJ.com reported.
Warren Police said a summons cannot be reversed once written, no matter the circumstances, until the person appears in court and requests the charges be dropped, NJ.com reported.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
