Five Hurt As Manchester Crash Snaps Pole, Causes Brush Fires

Five people were injured Sunday evening when a car and a pickup truck collided at the intersection of Lake Road and Monroe Avenue in the Whiting section, Manchester police said Monday.

Francesco Galderese, 19, of Tinton Falls; Natale L. Brown, 19, of Neptune; David B. Mcleod, 66, of Manchester, and two boys, ages 8 and 5, who were Mcleod’s passengers, all were taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River for treatment after the crash, Manchester Capt. Todd Malland said. The adults all complained of neck pain, he said. The injuries to the two boys were not specified but Malland said they were minor.

The crash happened shortly before 6 p.m., Malland said. Galderese was eastbound on Monroe Avenue in a gray 2003 Dodge Ram and apparently failed to stop at the stop sign, Malland said. Mcleod was southbound on Lake Road in a 2010 Toyota Yaris, which hit the driver’s side of the Dodge in the intersection, causing the pickup to roll multiple times before coming to rest on the driver’s side, he said.

The Toyota then hit a utility pole, causing it to sever a power line and causing several transformers in the area to catch fire, igniting small brush fires in the process, Malland said. Power was knocked out to some homes in the area as well.

The brush fires were quickly extinguished by members of the Whiting Volunteer Fire Department, he said.

Manchester Patrolman Michael Anderson is investigating the crash. Assisting at the scene were Whiting Volunteer Fire Department, Quality Medical Transport, and JCP&L, Malland said.