MANCHESTER – A Lakewood woman was pronounced dead at the scene of an early morning accident Tuesday.
Helga Risor, 82, was driving her 1988 Lincoln Town Car on Route 547 when she slammed into the back of a dump truck that had stopped for a man attempting to contain a loose dog. The car suffered extensive damage to its entire passenger compartment. Risor, the lone occupant of the vehicle, died at the scene.
The dump truck driver, Evel Perez, 30, of Camden, was uninjured.
Police arrived in the area of Route 547 and Ridge Avenue around 8:16 a.m. Their investigation revealed that an uninvolved vehicle had pulled off the road and its driver attempted to contain a loose dog. The dump truck, a fully loaded 2015 Caterpillar, slowed and stopped to avoid the man and the dog.
The Lincoln, traveling southbound on 547, skidded and rear-ended the dump truck.
Detectives from both the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Support Team and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Unit along with Troopers from the New Jersey State Police Commercial Carrier Safety Inspection Unit assisted.
Also assisting were EMTs from Quality Medical Transport, paramedics from MONOC, firefighters from both the Ridgeway and Whiting Volunteer Fire Departments and a representative from the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Driver inattention appears to be the cause of the crash, Manchester Township Police officials said. The investigation is ongoing by Patrolmen Jesse Hoydis, Michael Anderson, and Michael O’Hara of the department’s Traffic Safety Unit.
The road was closed for several hours while officers conducted the investigation and while the scene was cleared.
