E-Bike Rider Hospitalized After Route 37 Crash In Manchester

MANCHESTER, NJ — A Manchester man was hospitalized after his electric bicycle was hit by a cargo van on Thursday evening, Manchester police said Friday.

Raymond Santory, 46, was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune with trauma to his right leg and several lacerations to his head and face, Capt. James Komsa said.

The crash happened about 6 p.m. Thursday on Route 37, Komsa said.

Santory was riding an electric bicycle and headed east in the shoulder of the westbound lanes of Route 37, Komsa said. At the same time, Jack Ravenna, 34, of Greenville, South Carolina, was driving a white 2021 Dodge Ram cargo van west in the right travel lane, he said.

As Ravenna began to turn into the entrance of 2011 Route 37, Santory hit the cargo van on the front passenger side and was thrown from the bike, hitting the windshield and then landed on the grass, Komsa said. The bike continued east about 10 feet more before coming to rest, he said.

Santory was wearing dark clothing and no helmet, Komsa said.

Ravenna did not sustain any injuries as a result of the crash.

Assisting at the scene were EMTs from the Manchester Township Division of Emergency Medical Services and paramedics from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

The investigation into the crash is still ongoing, but at this point, the failure to ride a bicycle with the flow of traffic and the rider wearing dark clothing are the primary contributing factors in the crash, Komsa said.

Patrolman Conner Yatauro of the department’s Traffic Safety Unit is investigating.