Manchester Township, NJ – On Friday, December 31, 2021 at approximately 4:40 a.m., members of the Manchester Township Police Department responded to the area of County Route 571 in the area of Kingsridge Road for the report of a crash involving one vehicle into a utility pole. Upon arrival, officers located a heavily damaged Acura TSX off the roadway, and into the woods containing two occupants. The investigation revealed that the operator of the Acura, 19-year-old Jamier Mcleod of South Toms River, was traveling west on County Route 571 when he lost control of the vehicle, ran off the roadway colliding with a utility pole before coming to final rest in the woods. The driver was subsequently transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for treatment of possible internal injuries. The passenger in the vehicle, 19-year-old Ivanalai Garcia of Berkley Township sustained an apparent head injury and was transported to Community Medical Center for treatment of her injuries. It was determined that the driver was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash and that the road conditions were wet with a light rain/fog condition.
Assisting at the scene were the following Emergency Service units: Ridgeway Vol. Fire Department and Manchester Vol. Fire Department, Paramedics from Robert Wood Johnson, Manchester Emergency Medical Services and JCP&L to repair the utility pole. The crash remains under investigation by Sergeant Paul Bachovchin of the Manchester Township Police Department Traffic Safety section.