Pedestrian
killed on
By dave benjamin
Staff Writer
MANALAPAN — A 79-year-old man was struck and killed as he was attempting to cross Route 33 just west of Woodward Road on April 30.
According to police, at 11:03 a.m., Russell G. Ragno, a resident at the Pineland Rest Home, Route 33 east, was attempting to cross Route 33 from the westbound side to the eastbound side when he was struck by a 1998 Pontiac Firebird driven by Terrance A. Jackson, 45, of Philadelphia.
Manalapan police, volunteers with the Englishtown-Manalapan First Aid Squad and MONOC paramedics responded to the scene of the accident, but a short time later Ragno was pronounced dead after rescue efforts failed.
The Monmouth County Medical Exam-iner’s Office assisted at the accident scene.
"He’s been here for just about a year," said Shirley Welsh, administrator of the Pineland Rest Home. "We’re quite upset."
Although the circumstances surrounding the accident are still under investigation, preliminary reports indicate that Ragno was attempting to cross Route 33 from the westbound side of the highway back to his residence on the eastbound side, said Manalapan police Capt. Stuart Brown.
There is a deli on the westbound side of Route 33 in the vicinity of where the accident occurred. The deli is about a quarter-mile west of Woodward Road’s intersection with the highway.
At the location where the accident occurred Route 33 is a four-lane highway with two lanes in each direction separated by a grass median. Police reports indicated that traffic was light, the weather was clear and the pavement was dry at the time of the accident.
Police said Ragno was struck while he was in the left lane on the westbound side of Route 33.
As a result of the accident, Route 33 traffic was reduced to one lane in each direction for approximately three hours.
Patrolman Steven Turner, Patrolman Robert Pease and Sgt. Kenneth Gibson of the Manalapan Police Department are investigating the accident. Additional investigations are being made by the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team and the Mon-mouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to call Manalapan police at (732) 446-4300.