Street Closure Cleared In Downtown Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Work to repair a utility pole on Water Street that was broken Monday as the result of a crash has been finished much earlier than anticipated.

Water Street has been reopened to traffic, as of about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, the Ocean County Sheriff's Office said in an alert.

Richard Heaney, 56, of Bayville, has been charged with driving under the influence in the crash that happened about 3:30 p.m. Monday, said Jillian Messina, media relations specialist for the Toms River Police Department.

Heaney was driving east on Water Street when he lost control of his pickup truck, hit the utility pole and broke it, and several cable and power lines got tangled around his truck, Messina said.

The pickup wound up in the parking lot of the Riverview Point apartment complex, and the pole was lying across Water Street with the wires burning in the road, Messina said.

Heaney, who was not injured, was arrested and charged with careless driving, reckless driving, failure to maintain a lane, and driving under the influence, she said.

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