UPDATE: Police Say Man Fell Asleep at Wheel

A Middlesex County man who crashed his 2002 Acura on Somerdale Road during rush hour Wednesday morning fell asleep at the wheel, police said on Thursday.

Amol Patel, 28, of Edison, fell asleep as he drove the car eastbound on Somerdale Road. The car left the roadway near Orchard Avenue, striking a utilty pole and fire hydrant before overturning.

Patel has been cited for careless driving, Gloucester Township Police Lt. Edward Bryant said.

----------

The original article about this crash, published at 4:35 p.m. on Feb. 8, is below.

Police say it was a one-car accident that caused traffic delays along Somerdale Road during the morning rush hour Wednesday.

Police were dispatched to Somerdale Road, near Orchard Avenue, around 7:40 a.m. on a report of a car crash that resulted in an overturned vehicle.

Police found that an eastbound 2002 Acura left the roadway and struck a utilty pole and fire hydrant. The impacts caused the car to overturn, but its driver had managed to get out of his car by the time police and fire units arrived on scene, according to Gloucester Township Police Lt. Edward Bryant.

The car's driver was not identified in a police department-issued press release sent out at around 3:30 p.m.

The accident remains under investigation by Cpl. Richard Worst, of the police department's Traffic Safety Bureau.

The driver had been treated and released from an area hospital as of the time the press release was issued, police said.