Residents Help First Responders Aiding Man After Manchester Crash

MANCHESTER, NJ — A Toms River man was flown to a trauma center and a Forked River woman also was injured in a two-car crash late Monday night, Manchester police said.

James Natoli, 28, was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune with a head injury, Manchester Capt. James Komsa said.

Natoli was actively seizing but was stabilized by first responders aided by local Pine Lake Park residents before he was flown to the trauma center, Komsa said.

Thurrayya Pendleton, 50, of Forked River, suffered a chest injury that was not believed to be life-threatening, he said. She was taken to Ocean University Medical Center in Brick, he said.

The crash happened at the intersection of Commonwealth Boulevard and Northampton Boulevard about 11:15 p.m., Komsa said. Natoli was driving a gray 2012 Hyundai Accent, and Pendleton was driving a maroon 2009 Honda Accord. Both drivers were wearing their seatbelts.

Patrolman Keith Douglas of the Traffic Safety Unit is investigating the crash, but the preliminary information is that a medical episode appears to be the main contributing factor, Komsa said.

Assisting at the scene were members of the Manchester, and Ridgeway Volunteer fire departments, emergency medical technicians from the Manchester Township Division of Emergency Services, Robert Wood John University Hospital paramedics, and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital LifeFlight medevac helicopter.