Off-Duty Trooper Saves Man's Life In Expressway Crash: Police

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — An off-duty New Jersey State Trooper saved the life of a Pennsylvania man who became entrapped in a car after it left the road on the Atlantic City Expressway and caught fire on Monday, State Police Lt. Theodore Schafer said on Tuesday.

Kenneth Minnes, a trooper with the Port Norris Barracks, pulled 25-year-old John Bark of Warminster, Pa., from the car that went off the road on the Atlantic City Expressway at Mile Marker 44.1 at about 2:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, according to Schafer.

Minnes had a tourniquet in his off-duty car, and applied it to Bark’s arm. Although the arm was ultimately amputated, Minnes was able to save Bark’s life, Schafer said.

Bark was the passenger in the car. Walter Williams, 26, of Colmar, Pa., was driving the car, and was ejected at the time of the accident.

Minnes happened to be driving past the scene when he noticed the accident and pulled over, Schafer said.
The car, with Bark inside, went off the road and into the woods. A fire resulted, and it was initially reported to police as a brush fire. After arriving police officers learned the true nature of the incident, a medical helicopter was summoned to the scene.

Both Bark and Williams were transported to Cooper University Hospital in Camden with serious injuries. Both suffered head trauma, and Williams suffered an unknown back injury, according to Schafer. They remained in critical condition late Tuesday morning.

The make of the car and the cause of the accident remained unknown on Tuesday.

Read more here: 2 Injured In Crash On Atlantic City Expressway In Gloucester Twp.

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