JACKSON — Authorities are investigating after a man was found dead in the roadway early Monday following an incident involving a dump truck, officials said.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Jackson Township police were called to the area of South Hope Chapel Road at about 2:30 a.m. June 1 for a reported crash involving a pedestrian. Officers arrived and found a man in the road suffering from severe head injuries.
Emergency responders attempted to provide aid, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
Investigators determined that a Mack dump truck had been traveling north on South Hope Chapel Road when the driver tried to steer around what he initially believed was debris in the road, according to the prosecutor’s office. The driver then realized it was a body, but the truck ran over the man despite the driver’s efforts to avoid him, officials said.
The driver stopped immediately and contacted law enforcement, authorities said.
A post-crash inspection of the truck found no evidence that the front of the vehicle had directly struck a pedestrian. Investigators said physical evidence showed the truck ran over a body that was already lying in the roadway and dragged it a short distance.
The investigation remains ongoing by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Jackson Township Police Department, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit and Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to contact Police Officer Matthew Kalbach #315 or Sgt. Jeffrey Henba #263 at 732-928-1111.
No additional information has been released.
