Pedestrian Struck, Killed On Route 70 In Lakehurst: Prosecutor

LAKEHURST, NJ — A Manchester woman was struck and killed Wednesday night trying to cross Route 70, the Ocean County prosecutor's office said Thursday.

Peggy Acquisto, 42, of Whiting, was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident, near 506 Route 70 in Lakehurst, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor's office. The accident happened about 10 p.m., he said, before the blizzard began.

Acquisto is the seventh pedestrian killed and the eighth hit in the last month on Ocean County's roads.

Della Fave said Acquisto was crossing the road with a male companion about 10 p.m. in a dark part of the road not in a crosswalk when she was hit by a 2013 Hyundai Elantra driven by Arvid Wisth, 56, of Whiting. Wisth was westbound on Route 70 and struck Acquisto in the travel lane, Della Fave said.

Wisth immediately turned the vehicle around and parked across from the area of impact on the eastbound side of Route 70 and awaited police arrival, Della Fave said.

Wisth gave consent for a search of his telephone, which showed no signs of being in use at the time of the accident, and his car, Della Fave said. Additionally Wisth "performed multiple field sobriety tests and did not exhibit any signs of impairment," he said.

Witnesses told authorities that Acquisto walked slowly into oncoming traffic and was almost struck by one vehicle before being hit by Wisth while she was standing in the middle of the westbound lane of Route 70, Della Fave said.

The preliminary investigation was conducted by the Lakehurst Police Department, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office's Major Crime Fatal Accident Investigation Unit, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s CSI Unit.

In December, there were six people struck and killed on Ocean County roads:

• On Dec. 5, Irene D. Perosi, 53, of Lakewood, hit while crossing Shorrock Street in Lakewood.
• On Dec. 12, Richard Bococinski, 37, of Toms River, hit on Fischer Boulevard while picking up trash in front of his home.
• On Dec. 15, Bruce Nussenbaum, 62, of Seaside Heights, while walking along Route 37 in Toms River.
• On Dec. 24, Michael Cappello, 41, of Lakewood, hit while walking on Route 88 near Old Squan Road in Brick.
• On Christmas, Roger A. Conover, 45, of Lakewood, hit while crossing Cedar Bridge Avenue in Lakewood.
• On Dec. 30, James Icklan, 73, of Manchester, while crossing Water Street in Toms River.

There were 13 pedestrian deaths in Ocean County in 2017, up from eight deaths in 2016.

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