Drivers Escape Injury After Crash Brings Down Utility Pole In Manchester: Police

MANCHESTER, NJ — Two people escaped injury Tuesday when a pickup truck hit a utility pole and knocked it onto a passing car in the Pine Lake Park section of town, Manchester police said Tuesday evening.

The accident happened about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday on Commonwealth Boulevard near the intersection with Cumberland Boulevard, Manchester Capt. Todd Malland said.

Kim M. Mork 2nd, 23, of Manchester, was westbound on Commonwealth Boulevard in a 2016 Ford F-150 pickup truck when it left the road, Malland said.

The pickup hit a utility pole, snapping it, Malland said, and as the pole fell, it hit a 2014 Chevy Malibu driven by Helen Holland, 84, of Toms River, who was eastbound on Commonwealth Boulevard. The force of the impact caused damage to Holland’s windshield and the roof of the car, Malland said.

The snapped pole also damaged two other nearby utility poles and pulled wires down into the road, he said.

Neither driver was injured and both were wearing their seatbelts, Malland said.

The incident caused intermittent power outages in the area and resulted in the closure of Commonwealth Boulevard in both directions while the three damaged utility poles are being replaced and the wires repaired, Malland said.

"Residents in the surrounding area may experience power outages while JCP&L workers make the necessary repairs," he said.

Assisting at the scene were members of the Manchester and Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Departments. The crash is being investigated by Cpl. Douglas Higgins of the department’s Patrol Bureau.

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