Man dies in five-car crash

BY JOSH DAVIDSON
Staff Writer

BY JOSH DAVIDSON
Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — A Long Branch man was killed after crossing Route 36 following a five-car collision in the township’s Port Monmouth section.

The accident occurred at the intersection of Route 36 and Wilson Avenue June 3 at 10:40 a.m. and resulted in the death of pedestrian Feliseo Ramirez, 35, of Long Branch, township Patrolman Darrin Simon said.

Ramirez had taken the bus from Long Branch and had just crossed the street on his way to work at Romeo’s Pizza and Restaurant, which is located on Route 36, Simon said. Ramirez was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center, Neptune, where he was pronounced dead as a result of head trauma.

"What appears to have happened is, the driver of a [1995] Chevrolet Lumina was headed northbound on Wilson Avenue toward Route 36 and may have had a medical accident, possibly a stroke, when he was traveling on Wilson Avenue," Simon said.

The stroke possibly caused that driver to go through a red traffic light at the intersection of Wilson Avenue and Route 36, and then to strike a 2000 beverage delivery truck from Watchung Spring Water that was traveling east on Route 36, he said.

"After he hit the truck, his car went into a spin from the collision and he collided into a [2004] Lexus that was also [heading] eastbound in the left lane of 36," he said.

The beverage delivery truck also went into a spin, hitting an 1998 Avis truck, he said. The Avis truck was pushed into two gas pumps at the Port Monmouth Gulf gas station at that intersection. The pumps were knocked into a Ford Bronco where a woman was seated in the driver’s seat waiting to get gas, Si­mon said.

After hitting the Avis truck, the beverage truck slid and rotated, causing both trucks to strike a util­ity pole, he said. The back of the beverage truck caused further damage to the gas station and hit Ramirez, who was walking through the station after crossing Route 36.

All of the other victims were taken to Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank, Simon said.

"Everybody was wearing their seatbelt, and that significantly re­duced the severity of injuries," he said.

The driver of the Lumina was still in the hospital’s intensive care unit as of Monday, receiving treat­ment for a stroke.

The driver of the beverage truck was treated and released the day of the accident with a sprained shoul­der, along with cuts and bruises. The driver of the Lexus was treated and released that day with minor pains. The woman at the gas pump was treated and released from the hospital that day for complaints of nausea.

Power was not lost at the scene, but traffic was closed off on Route 36 from Main Street in Belford to the accident scene for much of the day, Simon said. There was a moderate amount of traffic at the intersection during the time of the accident, he said.

No summonses or charges have been made by police. Police do not believe that the accident involved reckless driving or that it was a de­liberate act, Simon said.

"I am feeling relatively confi­dent that this appears to be a medi­cal event," Simon said. "Just one of those horrible tragedies that hap­pen."