Texting While Driving Blamed for Bad Wreck in Brick
Texting while driving leads to a multi-vehicle accident with injuries in Brick Township on Route 70 Thursday. Police say Just after 2:30 p.m. 19-year-old Shannon Straniero of Brick became distracted while using her cell phone and drifted into another lane while turning, colliding head-on at the Laurelton intersection into a vehicle that was pushed backwards into a third.
Straniero was taken to the Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune with internal chest and stomach injuries. The driver and passenger of the car she struck were transported to Ocean Medical Center in Brick with minor injuries. The driver the third vehicle escaped unharmed.
Police say several of the eastbound lanes of Route 70, on the west side of the interchange, were closed for approximately 45 - 60 minutes due to the investigation and clean up. The NJ Department of Transportation assisted at the scene. Congestion in the area was heavy as a result of the crash.
Straniero was issued a careless driving summons and a summons for texting and driving.
In a press release Brick Police say "Distracted driving continues to be a dangerous epidemic on our roadways. All Drivers are reminded that it is a violation in New Jersey to use a wireless telephone or electronic communication device by an operator of a moving motor vehicle. Distracted driving is anything that takes your eyes or mind off the road or your hands off the steering wheel - especially texting and cell phone use."