Eight-vehicle Route 30 Crash Kills Woman; Three Injured

Wednesday, October 01 2008 @ 08:54 pm EDT

Contributed by: CBrining

From the Atlantic City Press Published: Wednesday, October 01, 2008

By STEVEN LEMONGELLO Staff Writer, 609-272-7275

Published: Wednesday, October 01, 2008 GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP - One woman is confirmed dead and three people injured in an eight-vehicle accident that left a scene of carnage across a large swath of the White Horse Pike on Tuesday afternoon.

The accident, which police said happened at about 4:25 p.m., took place directly in front of Al's Custard Stand at Route 30 and Frankfurt Avenue. What appeared to be a gray Jeep was nearly obliterated, with parts scattered across all four lanes and a side mirror thrown all the way into the Al's parking lot. A red pickup truck was flipped upside down just to the west of the Jeep, and beyond that was a minivan that had crashed into a pole.

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Some bystanders identified the smashed vehicle as a mail truck, but that was not confirmed by authorities.

About 50 yards to the east, a large white truck labeled "SWSNJ Warehousing" of Somerville had come to rest in the opposite westbound lane. A Chevrolet Monte Carlo and a Ford Expedition had crashed into the front and side of the truck, respectively.

One person was flown by helicopter to the Regional Trauma Unit at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City, Sgt. Kevin Mott said, while two others were taken away by ambulance.

Cynthia Murphy, of Galloway Township, heard the crash and rushed out just afterward. "The (Jeep) exploded after it hit the red truck," Murphy said, "and the big truck took everyone out the rest of the way. ... The truck just kept going, one after the other. It was horrible."

The injuries to the driver were so severe that Murphy misidentified the dead woman as a man.

"It was still smoking when I got out," she said of the Jeep, whose driver "was still sitting in his seat after it ejected out of the car. We wanted to try and help him, but he was already dead. We stayed until the cops came ... He was wearing his seatbelt."

"His lunch box is over there," she said, tears in her eyes as she pointed toward Al's parking lot. "He was just coming home from work. It just isn't fair."

She said that she and others also tried to help the driver of the red truck, but no one could reach him until help arrived.

The name of the driver who was killed was not released pending notification of her family. The identities of those injured also were not available.

E-mail Steven Lemongello: SLemongello@pressofac.com

__________________________________________________________________________________ Crash Victim Linwood Postal Porker

By EMILY PREVITI Staff Writer, 609-272-7221

Published: Thursday, October 02, 2008

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP - Police identified Wednesday the victims and drivers involved in an eight-car crash that killed a 66-year-old postal worker.

Martha M. Perez, of Linwood, was killed when a box truck rear-ended her Jeep at about 4:25 p.m. Tuesday, police said. Perez had been stopped and waiting to make a left from the eastbound side of Route 30 onto Frankfurt Avenue. The collision pushed her car into oncoming traffic on Route 30, where it was hit again by a truck, according to a statement released Wednesday by township police.

Perez's vehicle, a model formerly used exclusively by United States Postal Service, was destroyed beyond recognition by the collisions, which were so loud that bystanders mistook them for explosions.

Perez had worked as a rural carrier in Egg Harbor City since 1987, according to Postal Service spokesman Ray Daiutolo.

"This is a devastating tragedy," Daiutolo wrote in an e-mail. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family. We are focusing on helping her co-workers cope with this."

There was no mail in her vehicle, a 1983 AMG Jeep that Perez owned. She likely purchased it from the USPS to use for work, Daiutolo said.

Mail carriers used that model before they switched during the 1990s to the Grumman Long Life Vehicle, the bigger aluminum mail trucks seen today, Daiutolo said. USPS sold some of the AMG Jeeps to rural carriers, who are typically contract employees who use their own vehicles, he said.

Perez's family could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

The box truck driver, Joseph Kowal, 43, of Manville, Somerset County, also was unable to be reached Wednesday. He did not receive medical treatment after the crash, according to Galloway Sgt. Kevin Mott.

Police said they do not suspect Kowal was under the influence, but they drew blood from him to test for drugs and alcohol as part of the protocol for fatal accident investigations, Mott said.

Any charges in the case are pending the investigation, poilce said.

Pickup truck driver Samuel Whittaker, 79, of the Pomona section of Galloway, was flown the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus, where he remained Wednesday, according to his son Mark Whittaker.

After rolling over, Whittaker's pickup collided with a car driven by Pankeshku Gandhi, 39, of Brigantine, and carrying Mayur Kumar Raniya, 31, of Brookmill, N.Y., police said.

Debris from the collisions damaged cars driven by Galloway residents Maheshkum Patel, 55, and Dionne Anderson, 42.

Anderson was treated and released from AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center's Mainland Campus in Galloway, police said.

Diann Diggs, 58, of Sicklerville, Camden County, was also treated there for minor injuries after Kowal hit her car, according to the statement.

Kowal's box truck also struck an SUV carrying driver Colleen McWilliams, 21, of Shamong, Burlington County, and passenger John W. Marshall, 22, of Palmyra, Burlington County, police said.

Gandhi, Raniya, Patel, McWilliams and Marshall did not receive medical treatment, Mott said.

Galloway Cpl. Ed Fryling, Sgt. Paul Dooner, Detectives Michael Goldberg, Donna Buccaferni and Ro Latorocca; and Officers Greg Bollinger, Rich Barber and Derek Tilton are investigating with help from Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office Investigator Kevin Hincks and Sgt. Keith Fane, according to the statement

Galloway police were assisted by the New Jersey State Police Fatal Accident Unit and Commercial Vehicle Inspection Unit, as well as the Atlantic County Medical Examiner's Office, AtlantiCare Regional Medics, the New Jersey Department of Transportation and fire, rescue and law enforcement personnel from Atlantic County, Absecon, Egg Harbor City, Mullica Township, Hamilton Township and Pleasantville, according to the statement.

E-mail Emily Previti: epreviti@pressofac.com