Pedestrians Injured After Pickup Strikes Car

A man driving a pickup truck struck the open door of another vehicle Monday morning in the township's Waterside Gardens section, injuring two people in the process.

According to a police report, Joseph M. Contrucci, 25, of Brick, had just made a left turn from Finchley Drive and was traveling northbound on Schindler Drive in a 1999 Ford Ranger when he struck the open front driver’s side door of a taxicab parked on the west side of Schindler.

The call came in to police at 6:06 a.m.

At the time, according to Brick Police Sgt. David Bedrosian, two pedestrians were in the process of loading a large flat screen television into the left rear door of the taxi.

The force of the initial impact caused Nicholas Mercado, 31, of Lakewood, to ride up onto the hood of the taxi while the second pedestrian, John Edwin Dew, 39, of Brick, was impacted by the television which was set in motion as a result of the crash.

Mercado landed 30 feet from the initial crash, Bedrosian said, while the vehicle only moved slightly.

Several police units, starting with Officers Justin Delaney and Scott Smith, responded to the scene, as well as Brick Police EMS and MONOC paramedics.

Mercado was taken to the trauma unit at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, while Dew was transported to Ocean Medical Center, Brick, with a complaint of leg pain.

Mercado was being treated for a broken left leg, rib and neck injuries, a police report said.

Traffic in the area of the crash was detoured for approximately two hours during the investigation, which is ongoing.

Summonses against Contrucci, who not injured, are pending, Bedrosian said.

Officer Scott Dierking and Officer Jay Lampiasi of the Brick Township Police Department’s Traffic Safety Unit responded and are conducting the crash investigation.