JACKSON – Multiple people were injured, one critically, after a truck slammed into Glory’s Market earlier today.
The Jackson Township Police Department and Ocean County Sheriff’s Department are on the scene at Cedar Swamp Road and Commodore Boulevard.
Commodore Boulevard has been reopened to traffic. However, Cedar Swamp Road between Commodore Boulevard and Jackson Mills Road will remain closed for the investigation, Jackson Township Police reported via their Facebook page.
Sources told Jersey Shore Online a 17-year-old girl attempted to turn left in front of the tractor-trailer. The driver reportedly hit the brakes but still struck the car before smashing into the market, tearing a large section of its exterior.
According to social media chatter, a cashier inside the market was critically wounded in the incident while the other injuries are said to be less serious.
Local resident Sebastian Jastrzebski told Jersey Shore Online that he was driving near the intersection when he heard the crash. He saw damaged vehicles, but he also saw drivers get out of their vehicles to help.
“Everybody was just looking and trying to see if there was any help needed,” he said.
Kristen Austin told Jersey Shore Online that she was in the parking lot when she and her husband heard the crash.
Austin and her husband, Darnell Austin, assisted at the scene.
“We ran over to see if we could help. My husband was then electrocuted by a live wire,” Austin said. Her husband wasn’t severely injured and declined medical attention.
According to Austin, an unidentified man yanked the girl’s car door open and pulled her to safety.
“My husband climbed on top of the rubble and debris and was holding up the deli counter which was mangled. Other men were there trying to move the other debris to get the woman out from underneath. My husband said she was screaming for her life. One of the workers was saying we need to clear a path for emergency personnel,” Austin said. “So I started helping move debris from the doorway (that’s when I dropped my car keys and lost them) then my husband told me to stop so I wouldn’t get hurt.”
The 17-year-old girl suffered injuries, according to Austin, and inside Glory’s, another older gentleman was on the floor bleeding from his face and head. Austin overheard someone say that he had internal bleeding.
All of the victims were taken to nearby hospitals.
“I’m on East Veterans and emergency vehicles have been flying that way for over an hour. I hope people are okay,” Annie Foster Broyles told Jersey Shore Online.
Jersey Shore Online reached out to Jackson Township Police Public Information Officer Capt. Steven Laskiewicz for more details.
Chris Lundy and Jason Allentoff contributed to this story.
Check back for updates.
