Police believe Bayville man suffering medical episode caused crash in Stafford

Stafford Township Police believe that a Bayville man may have suffered some type of a medical episode which led to a four vehicle collision on Route 9 near Hilliard Boulevard on Thursday morning, around 7:37 am.

Listen to Vin Ebenau mornings on Townsquare Media Jersey Shore Radio Stations, email him news tips here, and download our free app.

The responding police officers learned through an initial report that 73-year old Joseph Perez was driving erratically and his 2018 Toyota Tundra was running off the roadway as he was heading south near Southern Regional High School.

Once on scene, police found out that as a result of the erratic driving, Perez crashed into a 2021 Toyota Tacoma driven by Kevin Derosa, 52 of Beach Haven.

Following the initial collision, Perez kept driving and crashed into a 2021 Kia Forte driven by Maria Tagland, 51, of Manahawkin, who as a result, was pushed into a 2016 Honda CR-V being driven by John McCarthy, 78, of Barnegat.

Upon learning what happened and investigating the scene, Stafford Police later determined that Perez was suffering from a medical episode, which resulted in the crash.

Perez and Tagland were brought to Southern Ocean Medical Center for treatment.

Stafford Animal Control took Perez' dog, he had with him in the vehicle, into their facility for care.

The dog was uninjured in the crash.