Man Suffers Minor Injuries In Pole-Snapping Route 571 Crash: Manchester Police

MANCHESTER, NJ — An Ocean County man was injured Sunday after his car left the road and snapped a utility pole on Route 571, Manchester police said Monday.

David LeMay Jr., 38, of Jackson Township was not seriously hurt in the crash and refused treatment at the scene, Capt. Todd Malland said.

The crash knocked out power to an unspecified number of homes in the Ridgeway section, he said.

Police responded to the crash on Route 571 near Circle Drive at 7:17 a.m. Sunday and found LeMay's silver 2000 Chrysler Concorde on its roof facing east on the shoulder of the westbound lane of Route 571, Malland said.

Next to the vehicle was a utility pole that had been sheared off at its base in the crash, leaving high voltage electrical lines suspended in the air above the car, Malland said. LeMay was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash and was able to get out of the car without assistance, he said.

The initial investigation revealed LeMay was traveling west on Route 571 when it left the road and hit the pole head on, breaking the pole. After hitting the pole, the casr turned over and landed on its roof on the shoulder of the road, Malland said.

The car had multiple airbag deployments and LeMay sustained injuries to his right arm but refused further medical attention, he said.

The investigation is still currently ongoing, however, it is believed that driver distraction or fatigue may have been a contributing factor in the crash, he said. Traffic was delayed and power was interrupted for several hours as emergency workers and utility employees worked to replace to broken pole and clean-up the scene, he said.

Assisting at the scene were EMT’s from Quality Medical Transport as well as utility workers from Jersey Central Power & Light and Verizon. Patrolman Ian Bole of the Manchester Township Police Department Traffic Safety Unit is investigating.

Photos via Manchester Township Police