Route 530 Car-Bus Crash Leaves Man 'Critical': Manchester Police

MANCHESTER, NJ — A Manchester man was in critical condition Friday afternoon following a crash between a car and a small school bus on Route 530 Friday morning, police said.

John Keenan, 91, of Whiting, was listed in critical condition at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, where he was airlifted with serious life-threatening injuries, Manchester Lt. Vincent Manco said.

The crash was reported at 9:14 a.m. Keenan was driving a silver 2015 Toyota Corolla north on Lacey Road and failed to stop for a red traffic signal at the intersection with Route 530, Manco said. In the intersection the Toyota went into the path of a 2016 Ford 23-passenger school bus owned by Hartnett Transit Service of Lakewood, Manco said.

The bus, driven by Kim Barnes-Porter, 64, of Whiting, was headed east at the time. The impact sent the bus into a curb before it came to rest next to a traffic signal support. Barnes-Porter and her passenger, Dennis Dandorph, 79, of Whiting, were taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River for treatment of minor injuries, Manco said.

The force of the collision caused the Toyota to spin 180 degrees and it hit a curb before coming to rest facing south near 61 Lacey Road, he said.

Keenan, who was wearing a seatbelt, had to be extricated from his vehicle by members of the Whiting Volunteer Fire Department.

Barnes-Porter and Dandorph both were wearing seatbelts as well, Manco said.

Assisting at the scene were members of the Whiting Volunteer Fire Department, MONOC paramedics, Quality Medical Transport, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Crime Scene Investigation Unit.

Patrolman Ian Bole of the Manchester Township Police Department Traffic Safety Unit is investigating.

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