Man Airlifted, 2 Others Hurt In Route 70 Crash In Manchester

MANCHESTER, NJ — A Brick Township man was flown to a hospital and two other people were injured Monday afternoon following a head-on crash on Route 70, Manchester police said.

David Arce, 28, of Brick, was airlifted to Helene Fuld Medical Center in Trenton for treatment of serious leg and internal injuries, Manchester Capt. Todd Malland said late Monday night. Arce's current condition was not known.

Pablo Nunez, 31, of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst sustained injuries to his arm and his front-seat passenger, Leighanne Brown, 20, of Berlin suffered a head injury. They were taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Burlington by ambulance, Malland said. The back seat passenger, Rachel Goretskie, 19, of Browns Mills was uninjured and refused any medical treatment at the scene, he said.

Malland said the preliminary investigation found that Arce was driving east on Route 70 in a black 2001 Mercedes CK5 when his car crossed the center line and hit a blue 2010 Mazda 3 driven by Nunez, who was headed west on Route 70. The impact caused the Mercedes to spin and roll onto its passenger side, sliding off the road and hitting several trees.

Arce was found pinned inside and suspended by the vehicle’s seatbelt and had to be extricated, Malland said. The Mazda also spun and "slid a substantial distance" before coming to rest in the westbound shoulder.

The crash, which was reported at 3:48 p.m., happened near mile marker 34.5 in the Whiting section and resulted in the road being closed for nearly 3 hours.

Assisting at the scene were members of the Whiting and Lakehurst Volunteer Fire Departments as well as members of the Joint Base Fire Department. Also assisting were EMTs from Quality Medical Transport and paramedics from both MONOC and Virtua.

Patrolman Ian Bole is investigating.

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Photos via Manchester Towship police