Princeton Ave. Accident Results in Injury to Brick Man
Summons issued by police following accident Monday
A two-vehicle accident on Princeton Avenue sent one Brick man to the hospital with serious injuries.
Police say Louis A. Ruggieri, 41, was driving his 1974 Chevrolet Corvette westbound on Princeton Avenue just after 4 p.m. Monday when a second vehicle, a 2010 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck driven by Avo Pruul, 76, of Brick, turned onto Princeton from 4th Street.
Pruul was attempting to make a left turn into the eastbound lanes of Princeton Ave., according to Brick Police Sgt. David Bedrosian. Ruggieri tried to stop the Corvette before the impact, leaving about 40 feet of tire marks on the road, Bedrosian said.
Ruggieri suffered head trauma and loss of consciousness in the crash, Bedrosian said. He was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, where he remains in stable condition.
Pruul was not injured in the crash.
Pruul was issued a summons for failure to stop or yield, and Ptl. Ron Braen is continuing to conduct the investigation into the accident.
Braen, along with officers John Boronkas and Anthony Zurica responded to the scene. Brick Police EMS, MONOC paramedics and the Laurelton Fire Company also responded, Bedrosian said.
Kyra
2:38 pm on Tuesday, December 20, 2011
And why don't seniors need to retake their drivers test when renewing their license?
Dennis
5:40 pm on Tuesday, December 20, 2011
40 feet of skid marks? Corvette,4 wheel disc brakes and performance tires hould stop sooner if doing the 40 MPH speed limit. Maybe the old guy wasnt to blame?
Glenn
8:35 am on Thursday, December 22, 2011
It was a 1974 Corvette, not a '94 0r '04. Cars are antiques when they turn 25, this car is 36 yrs old. At best, disc brakes but no ABS, power brakes were an option, and the car may even have bias ply tires. But your right, he was probably doing around 45 like all the rest of the slow ones on Princeton Ave.
tanielle
8:36 pm on Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Thanks for clarifying that 36year, Dennis you hear Corvette and immediately assume he was speeding? He was not, the man who hit Louis ran a stop sign.
Joanne
10:11 pm on Tuesday, December 20, 2011
I live on this street where it takes place and I can honestly say its very hard to see out of that street because the people that live right there need to cut there bushes. If you don't believe be come and try pulling out of that street. It is impossible to not inch out. So it probably was just a freak and unfortant event
Joanne
10:14 pm on Tuesday, December 20, 2011
I do not disagree that older people should retake their driving test but I just don't think it was his fault completely. Both parties should have been paying attention. I hope it forces the neighbors to cut there bushes because they are the ones to blame not the motorist who were involved
tanielle
8:25 am on Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Paying attention would be the reason for the skid marks. Lou saw the man about to hit him. Yes we have to be defensive drivers, but there are reasons for stop signs. Just inching out wouldn't have caused the damage and injury it did to Louis. He is lucky to be alive. I agree the bushes should be cut if they block that much. An accident is just that, but come on now....
Betty Ann Fuller
12:04 pm on Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Agree on the bushes. Brick has ordinances for such items as bushes not being cut back in the right of way of a road. It is the homeowners responsibility (whomever is the owner on that corner with the bushes) to maintain them at a certain height. If the homeowner doesn't remove them, the twp will, and charge back the homeowner.
AJ
1:08 pm on Wednesday, December 21, 2011
You are right Betty,Brick has ordinances but nobody does anything about it.Sorry to get off the story,but take a ride through Best Buy/Bed Bath parking lot.They have 5 foot dune grass all over.Try not to kill anybody there,good luck!
disgusted homeowner
10:17 am on Friday, December 23, 2011
From the curb and 10 feet back, the bushes only can be approx. 18 inches high Had to cut my parents hedge back years ago cause it went all the way out to the street and was 4 feet tall. They showed me the violation notice and that was the restrictions listed as to the height. Where's code enforcement??? We have 8 inspectors.....
Betty Ann Fuller
1:16 pm on Wednesday, December 21, 2011
AJ, all you need to do is call code enforcement. Trust me, they will go out and check it out. I know for a fact they have done it in the past in other parts of town. Wouldn't hurt if this is a chronic problem at that intersection, regardless of who was as fault.
KC
12:19 am on Wednesday, December 28, 2011
IMO Brick Code Enforcement needs to take a proactive rather than a reactive stance. There are so many problems in this town, with garbage ridden roads, overgrown brush, non-maintained properties etc. How about the people burning wood in fire chimneys that have never been cleaned ergo wreaking havoc on everyone's respiratory systems? The list goes on and on. A little common sense should prevail in most of these instances, but it doesn't.
Jerry Belle
7:18 am on Thursday, December 22, 2011
I hope Mr. Ruggieri will be okay. Don't just engage in age discrimination against the older driver though. Those hedges are overgrown and nearly to the curb and barely a foot below the stop sign and street sign poles themselves on the NW side of the street and on the NE side there are overgrown trees and bushes that make coming out of 4th street a nightmare. As for speed, the posted 40 MPH is rarely observed on Princeton Raceway and with the infrequency of traffic lights cars are moving at quite a clip. I'm sure an investigation by traffic safety will determine how fast the corvette was going to create skid marks of 40 feet.
50plusyearsinBrick
9:18 pm on Sunday, December 25, 2011
I saw the accident on my way home from work- man n corvette (Lou) lucky to be alive the way that car looked- made me sick to my stomach as I passed by- hope he will recover fully soon-