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Sandra Wade, 61 of Toms River
According to Manchester police, a head-on collision on Route 70 early on Thursday morning claimed the life of a Toms River woman.
According to Manchester Capt. Vincent Manco, Sandra Wade, 61, was declared dead at the scene of the collision on Route 70 close to milepost 34.
Around 6:45 a.m. on Thursday, Wade was driving a westbound Nissan Frontier on Route 70 when her pickup truck crossed the center line into oncoming traffic and struck a Freightliner medium-duty refrigerated box truck, according to Manco.
Joseph Ballard, the 35-year-old box truck driver from Levittown, Pennsylvania, observed the Nissan and tried to swerve to avoid hitting it, according to Manco. He claimed that the pickup truck ultimately struck the front driver's side of the box truck.
Ballard had minor wounds but chose not to receive additional care, according to Manco.
According to him, the pickup's roof was torn off and its front end sustained significant damage as a result of the collision.
EMTs and firefighters from the Manchester Township Division of Emergency Services, paramedics from Robert Wood Johnson, firefighters from the Whiting Volunteer Fire Department, members of the New Jersey Department of Transportation Diversion Team, members of the Berkeley Emergency Hazmat Response Team, police officers from Pemberton Township, and state troopers all provided assistance at the scene.
On Thursday morning, Route 70 was shut down for more than five hours while authorities investigated the collision and cleaned up the scene.
Failure to maintain lane looks to be the biggest contributing issue, according to Manco, but Manchester Patrolman Michael O'Hara is investigating the situation.
