Toms River Crash Leaves 3 Injured As Vehicle Overturns

TOMS RIVER, NJ -- Three people were injured Tuesday, two of them seriously, in a crash caused when a car ran a red light at Cox Cro Road, Toms River police said.

Phyllis Scardena, 76, and her 87-year-old husband, of Kildare Drive, Toms River, were taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, after the crash, which happened about 11:30 a.m., said Ralph Stocco, spokesman for the Toms River Police Department.

Nancy Bartley, 53, of White Knoll Drive, Toms River, suffered minor injuries, Stocco said.

Scardena was southbound on Vermont Avenue in a 2004 Oldsmobile and entered the intersection at Cox Cro Road against a red light, Stocco said, to attempt a left turn onto Cox Cro Road. The Scardenas’ vehicle was hit in the driver’s side by the 2008 Dodge driven by Bartley, who was westbound on Cox Cro Road and had a green light, Stocco said.

The force of the impact spun the Scardenas’ vehicle southwest and its tires hit the curb, and the passenger side hit a snowbank, Stocco said, at which point the vehicle rolled onto the passenger side and came to rest in the front yard of a home at 1195 Cox Cro Road.

The Pleasant Plains Fire Department responded to extricate both of the Scardenas.

Phyllis Scardena, who was taken by ambulance to Jersey Shore, is listed in good condition, Stocco said. She received a ticket for failure to observe a traffic signal, he said. Her husband, who was not wearing a seat belt, was airlifted to the hospital with multiple injuries and is listed in stable condition, Stocco said.

Also responding to the incident were Toms River Township and Silverton EMS units.