Ocean County Man Killed, 1 'Critical' After 4-Vehicle Route 571 Crash In Manchester

MANCHESTER, NJ — A Toms River man was killed and four people were injured Tuesday in a four-vehicle crash that shut down Route 571 near Whitesville Road, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.

Michael Sadis, 48, of Toms River, died at the scene, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said, and Paul Lambert, 58, of Toms River, was seriously injured and flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he was listed in critical condition on Thursday.

Danielle Bowker, 30, of Toms River, Eduardo Rivera, 30, of Hamilton Township, and Daniel Septor, 26, of the Cream Ridge section of Upper Freehold Township, all were taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River for treatment of minor injuries, Billhimer said.

The crash happened about 7:15 a.m. Tuesday. Billhimer said the investigation found that Bowker, who was driving a 2018 Honda Civic, was driving west on Route 571 when she lost control of her car and failed to negotiate the curve near Whitesville Road.

Bowker's car hit a Ford F-550 pickup truck owned by the New Jersey Department of Transportation that was being driven by Rivera, Billhimer said. Septor was a passenger in the F-550, he said.

The impact caused the F-550 to lose control and hit the 2012 Toyota Camry driven by Sadis, pushing the car off the road and into an embankment, Billhimer said. The F-550 kept going and then hit a 2015 Toyota Corolla driven by Lambert, he said.

Route 571 was shut down from Commonwealth Boulevard to Whitesville Road for several hours as a result of the crash.

Billhimer said the crash remains under investigation by the prosecutor’s office Vehicular Homicide Unit, the Manchester Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.

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