Northfield police and firefighters look over the damage Wednesday after a car smashed through the front of Shore Green Energy on Route 9 in Northfield, breaking half the wall and taking out the window.

Photo by: Danny Drake

By STEVE LEMONGELLO Staff Writer | Posted: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 3:55 pm | 0 comments

A Galloway Township woman lost control of her car today in a Northfield parking lot and plowed into a storefront, according to police.

Shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday, Alice Steiruck, 87, was heading north when she turned into the lot in front of 2601 New Road. Her car struck the Shore Green Energy, LLC, building, partially demolishing the brick storefront.

Spencer Hamilton, 49, of Linwood was struck by debris while inside the building and was sent to the hospital with undetermined injuries, Capt. Randay Clark said.

The crash is under investigation by Patrolman Justin Heller.

Check here for updates. See Thursday's edition of The Press for additional coverage.

Weymouth Township - A dirt biker who was injured in a car accident this week was issued several motor vehicle summons Thursday, according to State Police at the Buena Vista barracks.

Albert M. Sereday, 31, of Lindenwold, was riding a dirt bike just before 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on County Road 669 by milepost 3.5 when he tried to make a U-turn and collided with a car, Trooper Brian Carswell said Thursday. Sereday - who was not wearing a helmet - was ejected from his bike, landed in the middle of the road and sustained head, neck and left leg injuries, according to State Police.

The Dorothy Rescue Squad transported Sereday to Weymouth Township School and he was flown by helicopter to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City. AtlantiCare spokesman Frank Tedesco said Thursday that Sereday declined to release information about his condition.

The driver of the car, Jordan L. Komar, 20, of Dorothy, refused medical treatment, Carswell said. The car and dirt bike were both towed from the scene.

Sereday was charged with having an unregistered and uninsured motorcycle and for not wearing a helmet, Sgt. Richard Keaser said. Keaser said blood was drawn from Sereday for an intoxication test, and the results are still pending.

Northfield - A collision in front of B.F. Mazzeo Produce on Thursday afternoon sent two people to the hospital, police said.

At 12:37 p.m., police said, Marilyn Galupo, of Absecon, was driving north on Route 9 when she tried to turn left into the B.F. Mazzeo parking lot. Galupo's car failed to yield, Capt. Randy Clark said, and struck a southbound car driven by Dwayne Wilkes, of Pleasantville.

The Wilkes car was propelled into Linwood resident Marie Murphy's car in the B.F. Mazzeo driveway, police said.

Wilkes had to be extricated from his car with the help of the Northfield Fire Department. He and passenger Laura Egunjobi, of Egg Harbor Township, were taken to Shore Memorial Hospital by the Northfield Rescue Squad due to unspecified injuries sustained in the crash.

The Northfield Fire Department also assisted with hazarous material cleanup.

The accident is still under investigation, police said.

The crash follows another incident a week earlier in which a driver accidentally accelerated from the B. F. Mazzeo parking lot, crossed New Road and wound up in the lot of the office across the street, Mayor Vince Mazzeo said last week. No one was reported injured in that incident.

Egg Harbor Township - A house in the Cardiff section was destroyed in a fire early Thursday morning.

The flames started at about 1:30 a.m. in the garage - which was converted into a den - and spread to the middle of the house and burned the roof of the structure the 100 block of West Avenue, Cardiff Fire Chief Tom Sweeny said.

Sweeny said 18 firefighters fought the blaze, which took 15 minutes to get under control. The firefighters stayed until 5:20 a.m. to clean up and assist the invigorators. No one was at home during the fire and no one was hurt. It was unclear what started the fire.

The Cardiff Volunteer Fire Company got help from the Northfield, Bargaintown and Farmington fire companies. The blaze is being investigated by Township Fire Inspector Don Stauffer, Sweeny said.

The charred house, which still had a burning smell Thursday afternoon, was marked off with yellow police tape.

The homeowner, Yovani Rivera, said in an afternoon phone interview that he was at Harrah's Resort with his two roommates at the time of the fire. The house was for sale, and Rivera found out about the fire from a phone call.

Rivera said he was very upset by the fire. He and one of his roommates had initially stayed at Harrah's Resort, while his third roommate went to stay with his girlfriend.

Somers Point - Boy, 13, charged with arson in school fire

A 13-year-old seventh-grader was arrested and charged with arson in connection with a Wednesday fire at the Jordan Road Middle School, Somers Point police Capt. Mike Boyd said.

The boy allegedly set fire to toilet paper in three different stalls in a bathroom in the seventh- and eighth-grade wing of the building, Boyd said. He is believed to have acted alone, Boyd added.

Police are reviewing the case with the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office Juvenile Unit to determine if there would be any further charges.

The Wednesday afternoon fire led to the evacuation of all students and staff at the Jordan Road School. No injuries were reported in the fire, which caused smoke damage to the ceiling, toilet stalls and air-circulation system.

Posted: Thursday, May 21, 2009 3:15 am | 0 comments

Posted in Atlantic on Thursday, May 21, 2009 3:15 am