At approximately 10:30 pm on motzei shabbos, members of the Manchester Township Police responded to the area of County Route 571 near the intersection of Washington Avenue, for the report of a pedestrian that was struck by two motor vehicles.
Upon arrival at the scene, officers located the pedestrian, 45-year-old Paul Mount of Toms River, in the northbound left lane of County Route 571 approximately 50 north of Washington Avenue, lying in the roadway. Officers immediately initiated life saving measures, but Mount succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene. The two involved vehicles, a black 2018 Ford Explorer and a black 2021 Toyota Highlander, were located near the scene of the crash with minimal damage.
The investigation revealed that Mount was crossing County Route 571, near the intersection of Washington Avenue, not within a marked crosswalk. At that time, the Ford was traveling northbound on County Route 571 in the left lane, with the Toyota following directly behind, approaching the intersection of Washington Avenue. As Mount entered the left lane of County Route 571 northbound, he was impacted by the Ford and then subsequently impacted by the Toyota.
The driver of the Ford, 21-year-old, Cristian Solano of Jackson, was traveling with two additional occupants, identified as, 31-year-old, Yonatan Maroles-Guardado, seated in the front passenger seat and 51-year-old, Angel Contreras-Guriervez, seated in the rear passenger side seat. The driver of the Toyota, a 27-year-old frum woman, was traveling alone. There were no reported injuries to any occupants of the Ford or Toyota.
The investigation into the crash is still ongoing, but at this point, crossing the roadway in an area with no crosswalk during nighttime conditions appears to be the primary contributing factor.
