Ambulance Crew, Patient Injured In Route 37 Crash: Police

(Photos courtesy Manchester Township Police Department)

An ambulance crew and their patient were hospitalized after the ambulance they were traveling in overturned during a crash on Route 37 in Manchester Saturday afternoon, Manchester police said Saturday night.

Jennifer Garelick, 25, of Barnegat, the driver of the Quality Medical Transport ambulance, and the rear passenger, Nicole Christiano, 22, of Toms River, as well as their patient, Marie Hilton, 73, of Whiting, all were listed in stable condition as of 7 p.m. at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, Capt. Todd Malland said.

Malland said the crash happened shortly before 2:30 p.m. as the ambulance was eastbound on Route 37, taking Hilton to Community Medical Center in Toms River, collided with a 2015 Chevy Silverado pickup that was traveling south on Colonial Drive, crossing Route 37.

The collision caused extensive front-end damage to the pickup and caused the ambulance to overturn, leaving it on its driver’s side just east of the intersection with Colonial Drive, Malland said.

The driver of the pickup truck, Dajuan Smith, 40, of Toms River, suffered minor injuries and refused medical attention at the scene, Malland said.

Assisting the Manchester Township Police Department were members of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Unit and the Ocean County Prosecutors’ Vehicular Homicide Unit, as well as members of the Manchester Volunteer First Aid Squad, and both the Manchester and Ridgeway Volunteer fire departments, Malland said.

Traffic diversion was provided by the New Jersey State DOT Incident Management Emergency Response Team while the investigation was being conducted, he said.

Patrolmen Michael Anderson, Ian Bole, and Antonio Ellis of the Manchester Township Police Department’s Traffic Safety Unit are investigating the crash, he said. Anyone with information about this crash is asked to contact the Manchester Traffic Safety Section at 732-657-2009 Ext. 4401.