Two Injured As Vehicle Rolls Over In Manchester Crash

Two women were injured Friday afternoon in a two-vehicle collision on Route 70 crash that caused an SUV roll over, Manchester police said.

Leslie J. Malsbury, 67, of the Whiting section of Manchester, and Norma Vasquez, 75, of Barnegat, both were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the collision, Manchester Capt. Todd Malland said.

Vasquez was taken to Monmouth Medical Center’s Southern Campus -- formerly known as Kimball Medical Center -- in Lakewood with neck pain, he said, while Malsbury suffered a hand injury. Malsbury refused medical care.

The initial investigation showed Vasquez, who was driving a red 2008 Chrysler Concord, had been stopped on the shoulder of eastbound Route 70 to use her cell phone. When she was through, she pulled back into the travel lane, and in doing so hit the green 2007 Hyundai Tucson driven by Malsbury, who was headed east on Route 70.

Malland said the impact caused Malsbury’s Tucson to overturn, rolling onto its driver’s side before coming to rest on the passenger side in the westbound lanes of Route 70.

Route 70 was closed while the crash was investigated, Malland said, and it remains under investigation by Patrolman Antonio Ellis of the Traffic Safety Section.

The Whiting Volunteer Fire Department assisted at the scene, he said.

(Photo courtesy of Manchester Township Police Department)