PLUMSTED – Investigators are citing the presence of an insect in a vehicle as a contributing factor in an accident that claimed the life of a young adult from Millstone Township.
Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Al Della Fave said this week that the two occupants of a 1995 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 were swatting at an insect in the car just before the vehicle struck an oncoming tractor-trailer at 10 a.m. Nov. 9 in Plumsted. He said the insect may have been a bee.
“This accident highlights how even the slightest driving distraction can have tragic consequences,” Della Fave said.
Authorities said the driver of the Camaro, Dylan Magee, 19, of Millstone Township, and Alexander Pannizzo, 18, of Millstone Township, were traveling south on Route 539 when the accident occurred. They were on their way to Stockton University, Galloway.
Della Fave said Magee’s vehicle struck a tractor-trailer being driven by Norman Bird Jr., 73, of Allentown, which was traveling north on Route 539. After the Camaro hit the truck it left the road and struck a tree.
Pannizzo was pronounced dead at the scene by responding emergency personnel just before 11 a.m.
Magee was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune. Bird was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Hamilton. Both suffered what authorities described as non-life-threatening injuries in the accident.