Gloucester Township Police Respond To 18 Accidents During Storm

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ - Gloucester Township police responded to 18 accidents as a nor'easter tore through New Jersey on Thursday. There were at least a dozen vehicles that were stuck in snow that officers had to help get the vehicles off of the road, police said.

In one incident, Jarvis Road was closed between Wilshire Road and Prospect Avenue for a large portion of the day after a pole fell into the middle of the road, police said. Many of the accidents were caused by slippery roads.

Certain roads with hills caused traffic issues. College Drive, Peter Cheeseman Road and Davistown Road at the hills caused vehicles to slide or get stuck.

All after school activities in the Gloucester Township K-8 Public School District were canceled for Thursday afternoon, according to the district's website. There were no late buses.

After school activities in the Black Horse Pike Regional School District, including sports and Twilight School, were also canceled, according to the district's website. The STOP program was canceled for Thursday night.

The Gloucester Township Municipal Building closed at 4 p.m.

Snow switched over to rain later than originally anticipated, and some parts of Camden County saw more than three inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service. Merchantville saw 4.5 inches of snow, while both Somerdale and Lindenwold saw more than four inches.

The Camden County Communications Center saw a higher number of 911 calls than usual. Officials reminded drivers who need to be on the road to leave plenty of room between themselves and the cars in front of them.

Since before the storm began, 90 pieces of equipment and 100 employees have been deployed from the Public Works complex in Lindenwold to Camden County’s 12 winter maintenance districts. The county’s response plan calls for crews to be dispatched only to the zones where they are needed.

“If you don’t have to travel, please stay off the roads to give our crews the ability to effectively do their job. Anyone on the roadways should be prepared to encounter slick road conditions. Always leave at least six car lengths behind our CCDPW vehicles while they work, and move any cars off the street and into a driveway while we continue our plowing operations,” Freeholder Susan Shin Angulo, liaison to the Camden County Department of Public Works, said. “Remember that it is illegal in New Jersey to plow or shovel snow from private property into roadways.”

In the event that the weather causes isolated power outages, please remember to immediately call your utility company so they can identify the location and coordinate crews to restore your power. This storm has the potential to bring down trees and power lines. Residents need to be extra cognizant of any power failures. Below are numbers and contact info for the two power providers in Camden County:

• PSE&G: 1-800-436-PSEG (7734)
• PSE&G website: http://pseg.com/home/customer_service/outage_info/index.jsp
• Atlantic City Electric: 1-800-833-7476; http://www.atlanticcityelectric.com/home/
• South Jersey Gas: 1-800-582-7060
• South Jersey Gas website: http://southjerseygas.com/

As always, residents should use 911 for emergencies only. Anyone who sees a problem on a county road, should call the county's 24-hour hotline at 856-566-2980 to report it to the Camden County Department of Public Works.

Thursday wasn't all bad, though.

"Who doesn’t like to play in the snow? Officers participated in their semi annual firearms qualifications during the peak of the snowfall," the Gloucester Township Police Department said in a release. "Hopefully the snow got everyone in the holiday spirit and reminded everyone to prepare for winter travel and be safe."

The attached image was provided by the Gloucester Township Police Department.