Off-Duty Cop, Passerby Pull Driver From Burning Vehicle In Brick

BRICK, NJ — An off-duty Lakewood police officer and a passerby pulled a driver from a vehicle that caught fire when live power lines fell on the vehicle following a crash Saturday night on Cedar Bridge Avenue, Brick Township police said Monday.

The driver, who was not identified, was taken by ambulance to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. An update on the driver's condition was not immediately available.

The crash, which happened a short distance from the Garden State Parkway entrance, was reported about 11:15 p.m. Saturday, Patrol Officer Victoria Finelli said.

The preliminary investigation found that as the driver passed the parkway entrance, the vehicle went onto the shoulder and then turned abruptly left, crossed the center line of Cedar Bridge Avenue and hit the guardrail on the eastbound shoulder, Finelli said.

The vehicle kept going, traveling west on top of the guardrail until it hit the utility pole, which snapped from the impact. The top of the pole with the power lines still attached then fell on the roof of the vehicle, and caused the vehicle to catch fire with the driver still inside, Finelli said.

The officer and the passerby pulled the driver from the vehicle then rendered first aid until police and first responders arrived, she said.

Firefighters who responded to the fire had to wait nearly an hour for a Jersey Central Power & Light crew to arrive and de-energize the power lines so they could safely fight and extinguish the vehicle fire, Finelli said.

Cedar Bridge Avenue remained closed until nearly 4 p.m. on Sunday while the utility pole was replaced and the damaged wires were repaired.

In addition to police officers from Brick and Lakewood, Brick Police EMS and paramedics from Hackensack Meridian Health responded, along with the Breton Woods and Pioneer Hose fire companies from Brick and Lakewood Fire Department Engine 5. The Brick Township Police Traffic Safety Unit handled the road closure.

The crash remains under investigation. Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to call Patrol Officer David Thergesen at 732-451-2037.

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