Midday crash at busy Brick shopping plaza

Two people are hospitalized in the aftermath of a crash in a Brick Township shopping plaza involving two cars, two pedestrians and the front of a supermarket.

The incident occurred just before 11 AM in front of the ShopRite near Route 70 and Chambersbridge Road .

Vincenza Riccio, 88, of Brick Township, one of the drivers, and Elizabeth Simpson, 90, of Lakewood, one of the pedestrians, were rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, according to police.

Riccio is believed to have sustained internal injuries and Simpson was diagnosed with a leg injury, police said.

Investigators determined that Riccio's 1998 Toyota Corolla was traveling north in a parking aisle of Kohl's Plaza, near the supermarket. Travelling south in the same aisle was a 1998 Hyundai Sonata driven by Francis Gagliano, 86, of Toms River, accompanied by his wife Mary, 85.

Joel Strasser, 77, of Brick was pushing a shopping cart alongside Gagliano's car. Simpson was also pushing a cart, having just exited ShopRite, police said.

Riccio's car veered left, hitting Gagliano's car, grazing Strasser, and continuing on to toward the store where it hit Simpson, coming to rest after hitting the building.

Neither Strasser, nor Gagliano and his wife, claimed any injuries. Building inspectors deemed the market to be structurally sound.

Police are interested in hearing from anyone who witnessed the collision. Reach detectives at 732-262-1143.