A wrong-way passing attempt on Route 70 ended in a head-on crash in Whiting on May 15, leaving four people injured and sending investigators back to the question of whether alcohol was involved.
The crash happened near mile marker 36 in the Whiting section of Manchester Township at approximately 7:52 p.m., when a 2025 Ford Ranger traveling eastbound entered the westbound lane in an unsafe attempt to pass another vehicle. The truck struck a 2022 Hyundai Elantra carrying a driver and two passengers.
One person was trapped and had to be extricated from a vehicle, and responders later established a landing zone at Bowker Field for medevac helicopters. Four people were taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, and all four were listed in stable condition.
The crash had the marks of a split-second driving mistake, but police said it carried signs of something more serious. Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said responding officers detected an odor of alcohol from the Ford Ranger operator and saw an open container of alcohol inside the vehicle. He also said that, in furtherance of the investigation, a court-authorized draw of the driver’s blood was taken at the hospital.
Route 70 is one of the main east-west roads through the Whiting section, and the collision tied up the area for hours as crews worked around the wreckage. The scene was cleared shortly after 11 p.m.
The case now sits with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Manchester Township Police Department and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit. What comes next is a closer look at whether the passing attempt, the open container and the blood draw support criminal charges tied to the crash.
