Distracted driving may have led to truck collision in Manchester, NJ
Manchester Township Police continue to investigate a multi-vehicle accident that occurred on Tuesday but as of right now, it appears distracted driving may be what set everything in motion.
It started with both vehicles traveling in the same lane down Route 37 when the driver of a Honda Pilot was routinely slowing down for a red light at the Colonial Drive intersection.
Police said that the driver of a Ford F550 commercial truck owned by Sano Drilling Inc., which was right behind the Honda Pilot, became distracted at that time, did not see the Honda and crashed into the back of the vehicle in front of him causing the Honda to spin into the intersection.
Meanwhile, the Ford entered the road off the shoulder and hit the traffic signal, electronic sign board, traffic sign and a utility pole causing a lot of damage to each in the process.
The trailer, which had a John Deere 75g Excavator on it, on the back of the Ford then jackknifed and hit the Ford on the passenger side of that vehicle.
Police, who are located right outside that intersection, responded around 2:22 pm to see the damage to both vehicles as well as the traffic signal, sign, electric sign board and utility pole nearby.
Elizabeth Hughes, 53, of Jackson, who was driving the Honda suffered a complaint of pain to her head and was evaluated by EMTs from the Manchester Township Division of Emergency Services and ultimately denied further medical attention.
The driver of the Ford, 47-year-old, Robert Moyer 3rd, of Barrington did not report any injuries as a result of the motor vehicle crash.
Moyer and Hughes were both wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash.
Due to the damage caused to the traffic signal and utility pole, traffic was slowed down as that intersection was closed down with crews working on fixing everything.
JCP&L is working on repairing the utility pole and wires while the NJ-DOT is working on the traffic signal restoration.