Woman Killed In Two-Car Crash In Ship Bottom

by Patricia A. Miller

A Long Beach Township woman died Wednesday afternoon when her PT Cruiser went through a red light and collided with a Ford F-350 at the intersection of Route 72 and Barnegat Avenue, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said.

The crash occurred at 3:40 p.m, when Lori Pelosi, 53, was heading south on Barnegat Avenue. She failed to observe a red light, proceeded into the intersection and was struck on driver’s side by the pickup truck, spokesman Al Della Fave said

Todd Parillo, 49, Little Egg Harbor, the driver of the pickup truck, was traveling west on Route 72 and had a green light as he approached the intersection. He collided with Pelosi’s car with his front end, Della Fave said.

An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Fatal Accident unit Detective Michael Proto, the Ship Bottom Police Department, Long Beach Township Police Department and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department CSI Unit found that failure to observe a red traffic signal due to driver inattention contributed to the crash, Della Fave said.

Pelosi was wearing a seat belt, but suffered serious injuries. She was taken to Southern Ocean Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 4:30 p.m. Parillo was uninjured and declined medical attention at the scene. There were no other occupants in either vehicle, he said.