A man who suffered back and knee injuries in a rear-end accident agreed to a $1.4 million settlement in his Middlesex County suit, Romao v. Lapatnick, on June 19.

Alvaro Romao was sitting in a car parked on the shoulder on Route 9 in Manalapan on Aug. 16, 2012, when the car was rear-ended by a vehicle driven by Ruth Lapatnick. Romao's wife, Miroslawa, had parked their car at the side of the road and was bringing a job application to a nearby business when the crash occurred, according to the suit.

Lapatnick swerved onto the shoulder when she came upon backed-up traffic and could not stop on time, according to Romao's lawyer, Nicholas Leonardis of Stathis & Leonardis in Edison. Lapatnick struck the Romao vehicle, causing it to flip on its side, and pushed it 66 feet down the highway, Leonardis said.