2 Women Suffer Burns As ATV Flips, Catches Fire In Manchester

MANCHESTER, NJ — Two women were severely burned Wednesday evening when their ATV crashed and caught fire, Manchester police said Thursday.

Nicole Rasmussen and Victoria Labrecque, both 20 and from Manchester, were flown to St. Barnabas Medical Center Livingston Burn Center for treatment of severe burns to their heads, backs, arms and faces, Manchester Lt. James Komsa said.

The two had been riding a Polaris ATV through trails off Roosevelt Boulevard and Trenton Avenue shortly after 6 p.m. when the ATV flipped and caught fire, Komsa said. The two women were able to walk to a nearby home where first aid and police were called.

A GoFundme campaign has been created to assist Rasmussen's family with her medical expenses. Danielle Pollard, who created the fundraiser, said Rasmussen suffered burns on more than 25 percent of her body.

EMTs with Manchester Township EMS treated the women at the home, while authorities when to extinguish the ATV fire, which was still burning, Komsa said.

Members of the Whiting Volunteer Fire Department and New Jersey Forest Fire Service extinguished the burning ATV and the surrounding woods, which had caught fire as a result of the ATV.

Assisting were Manchester Township EMS, paramedics from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Whiting Volunteer Fire Department, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, detectives from the Ocean County Sheriff’s CSI Unit and Priced Rite Towing.

Manchester Sgt. Paul Bachovchin is investigating.