Homeless Man Hurt When Tree Falls On Tent In Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A homeless man was injured Wednesday night when a tree laden with snow fell through his tent near the New Jersey Transit Bus terminal in Toms River, police said.

The 40-year-old man was pinned by the tree that came down in the midst of Wednesday's nor'easter that dropped a foot of snow on the township and surrounding areas.

Toms River police spokesman Ralph Stocco said police were called about 10:40 p.m. to the wooded area near the bus terminal on Highland Parkway and found the man pinned, he said. The man, who had been sleeping at the time, was conscious and alert when police, fire and EMS responded and was taken to the hospital for treatment, Stocco said.

The storm blanketed the area with heavy, wet snow that brought down trees and power lines across Ocean County, leaving thousands of residents without electricity Thursday morning.

Toms River was mostly spared outages; about 750 homes and businesses were without power in Toms River as of 11 a.m., according to Jersey Central Power & Light. Neighboring towns, including Manchester, Lakewood and Jackson had much higher outage numbers, with nearly 6,000 homes in Jackson alone lacking electric service.

JCP&L said line and forestry crews are working with crews from other FirstEnergy Utility Companies, out-of-state mutual assistance crews and contractor crews to restore customers to service as safely and quickly as possible. Additional resources are also being deployed to the affected areas from northern New Jersey.

If you are without power are reminded to call 1-888-544-4877 to report the outage or click the “Report Outage” link on www.jcp-l.com.

The storm cleanup prompted delayed openings and some closures in the area.

• Toms River Township municipal offices opened at 10 a.m.
• Superior Court in Ocean County opened at 10:30 a.m.
• The Ocean County Library system is closed.
• Winding River Skating Center is open, however.

Photo via Toms River Office of Emergency Management