MANCHESTER – A Toms River woman was killed after her pickup truck crashed head-on into a box truck on Route 70 in the township.
Manchester Township Police said 61-year-old Sandra Wade of Toms River was behind the wheel of her Nissan Frontier when her vehicle collided with a refrigerated box truck. She was pronounced at the scene.
Police responded to the the area of Route 70 near mile marker 34 at around 6:46 a.m. on October 13.
Responding officers observed a Nissan Frontier facing north with the rear end partially in the westbound lanes of State Highway 70 and a Freightliner Medium Duty refrigerated box truck on the eastbound shoulder.
The Nissan had extensive damage throughout the entire front end and the roof was torn off. The box truck had damage to the front driver side.
The investigation revealed that the Nissan was traveling westbound on 70 and crossed over the centerline into oncoming traffic.
The box truck, which was traveling eastbound on State Highway 70, observed the Nissan and attempted to avoid the collision by swerving towards the eastbound shoulder.
The attempt at avoiding the crash was unsuccessful and the front end of the Nissan impacted the front driver side of the box truck.
The driver of the box truck, 35-year-old, Joseph Ballard of Levittown, PA, sustained minor injuries but declined to be transported to the hospital.
Assisting at the scene were EMTs and firefighters from the Manchester Township Division of Emergency Services, Robert Wood Johnson Paramedics, firefighters from the Whiting Volunteer Fire Department, the New Jersey Department of Transportation Diversion Team, as well as, the Berkeley Emergency Hazmat Response Team, Pemberton Township Police Officers and New Jersey State Troopers.
Police said the investigation into this crash is still ongoing, however, failure to maintain lane appears to be the primary contributing factor.
This crash is being investigated by Ptl. Michael O’Hara of the department’s Traffic Safety Section.
