Crash update: One dead in Plumsted, serious injuries in Stafford

Route 72 in Manahawkin, in the area of Ocean Acres, was forced to close as a result of a crash involving a dump truck, and a fatal collision shut down Route 539 in Plumsted.

Word from the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office indicates that an 18-year-old from Millstone died in a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer on 539 just after 10 AM.

The victim and the 19-year-old driver were en route to Stockton University in Galloway, authorities said. Investigators are trying to determine what cased their car to veer from the southbound side into the path of the eighteen-wheeler carrying construction material.

The truck careened off the highway and into a tree, and the 73-year-old driver from Allentown, NJ was sent to a hospital in Hamilton. The 19-year-old driver of the car was rushed to Jersey Shore Universityi medical Center in Neptune.

In Stafford, a truck overturned and the driver required extrication, authorities said.

Ocean County Sheriff Mike Mastronardy conjectured that a second vehicle was involved, but the details are still under investigation by Stafford police.

Investigations caused both stretches of highway to undergo lengthy closures.

In the aftermath of a late-summer month-long Route 539 safety campaign, this would be the second fatal crash within a week. A woman died in Upper Freehold several days ago, when her car hit a tree.

These are developing stories. We'll update as information becomes available.