UPDATE: Waretown Man Airlifted To Jersey Shore After Lacey Road Accident

The other driver reportedly was looking at cell phone when accident occurred, police chief says.

Submitted by New Jersey Truck Accident Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark.

A Waretown man whose Ford F250 was sideswiped by by a Ford Explorer Sunday morning on Lacey Road had to be airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center with back and neck injuries, Police Chief David A. Paprota said.

Patrolman Darrell Nick responded to the accident at 9:46 a.m. at milemarker 10 on the roadway. Investigation at the scene determined that Anthony Santore, 40, Beach Haven, was heading eastbound on Lacey Road when he reportedly looked down at his cell phone, the chief said.

Santore’s vehicle crossed the double yellow center line and sideswiped the Ford pickup driven by John Turner, 48, of Waretown. Turner was traveling west on Lacey Road when the impact occurred, which pushed the Ford F250 off the roadway and into several trees, the chief said.

Turner was trapped in the vehicle and had to be extricated by members of the Forked River Fire Department. He was then airlifted to Jersey Shore in Neptune, Paprota said.

Santore was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River for treatment of his injuries. Lacey Road was briefly blocked between Dover Road and the Garden State Parkway during the initial state of the investigation, the chief said.

Members of the Bamber Lake Fire Department, the Lacey Township First Aid Squad, and paramedics also assisted at the scene, he said.

Originally published here by Patch.com.