A 75-year-old New Jersey man died Friday morning after his vehicle struck a tree at an intersection in Manchester Township, authorities said.
Police identified the driver as Michael Martin of Whiting, who sustained fatal injuries following the single-vehicle crash shortly before dawn.
Officers from the Manchester Township Police Department responded at approximately 5:37 a.m. to the intersection of Pinewald Keswick Road and Crestwood Parkway after receiving reports of a vehicle that had collided with a tree.
When officers arrived, they found a gray 2019 GMC Terrain that had left the roadway, traveled across a grassy shoulder, and struck a tree head-on.
According to a preliminary investigation, Martin had been traveling westbound on Crestwood Parkway and stopped at the stop sign before attempting to make a left-hand turn onto Pinewald Keswick Road. While making the turn, the vehicle lost control, entered the northbound lane of Pinewald Keswick Road, and continued off the roadway before colliding with the tree.
The impact caused moderate damage to the vehicle’s front passenger-side bumper and deployed the driver-side front airbag, police said.
Martin suffered internal injuries and was transported to Community Medical Center, where he later died, authorities said.
Investigators believe that an obstructed view through the windshield may have been a primary contributing factor in the crash, though the investigation remains ongoing.
