Police in Middlesex County say they have solved the mystery of how a boat wound up abandoned on the side of a busy roadway, leading to an accident caused by rubber-necking.

South Brunswick police Capt. James Ryan said that the 37-foot boat named Maraliya was being transported from Mamaroneck, New York, to Maryland when the truck transporting it broke down.

The driver then decided to leave the boat on the shoulder of Route 1 in South Brunswick on Thursday afternoon.

Ryan says Christopher Wright, of Forest Hills, Maryland, was issued a summons for failing to notify police of a disabled vehicle and for obstructing the passage of vehicles. He didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment left at Otter Creek Marina.

He says there was one minor car crash from drivers looking at the boat.

Police towed it away around 8 p.m. Thursday.