15-Year-Old Pedestrian Struck In Stafford: Police

STAFFORD, NJ — A 15-year-old girl was struck by a driver in Stafford after attempting to cross Route 72 Wednesday evening, police said.

A 22-year-old Manahawkin resident was driving a 2012 black Toyota Tacoma and merging onto Route 72 westbound from West Bay Avenue around 7 p.m. Wednesday when he hit the teenage girl, Stafford police said.

The girl, a Barnegat resident, was crossing Route 72 from the Holiday Inn with a group of friends when she was struck, police said.

She was taken to Southern Ocean Medical Center and later flown to Jersey Shore Medical Center with head and lower body injuries, police said. No update is available on her condition as of Thursday morning.

As a result, Route 72 westbound was limited to one lane for about six hours, police said. The driver's car was towed from the scene.

No charges have been filed in the accident, currently under investigation by the Stafford Township Police Department’s Traffic Safety Bureau.

Stafford police were assisted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Ocean County Sheriff’s Department and the Stafford Township First Aid.

Anyone with information for this accident is asked to contact Traffic Safety Officer Justin Pascale at (609) 597-1189 extension 8436 or at jpascale@staffordpolice.org.