A township man was struck by a car and killed Thursday night as he attempted to push his disabled vehicle off Route 70, police said.
William J. Cassano, 40, died after being struck as he was attempting to push his disabled 1988 Toyota 4Runner SUV to the shoulder of the state highway at approximately 8:43 p.m.
The vehicle had become disabled in the center travel lane of Route 70 eastbound approximately 150 feet west of the Burnt Tavern Road Extension, according to Brick Police Sgt. David Bedrosian.
During the course of pushing his vehicle, a passerby pulled onto the shoulder of Route 70 to offer assistance to Cassano at about the same time a 1990 Buick driven by William Cox, 23, of Freehold, hit the disabled 4Runner from behind.
The force of the crash launched Cassano approximately 30 feet toward the center median, Bedrosian said in a statement, but the passerby told police he got up and indicated he was OK. Shortly thereafter, however, Cassano was struck by a second vehicle, a 2009 Toyota Yaris being driven by Courtney J. Bannigan, 23, of Brick.
Bannigan, who was traveling eastbound, struck the Buick after hitting Cassano. The Buick had initially come to rest in the left travel lane of Route 70 eastbound at the intersection with Burnt Tavern Road, but after the second crash, ended up in the middle of the intersection. The Toyota came to a stop in the center median after striking a sign.
Cassano became pinned between the two vehicles, said Bedrosian. He sustained multiple injuries as a result of the crash, and succumbed to those injuries at the scene.
Neither of the other two drivers, nor the pedestrian who had initially stopped to help, were injured.
Brick Police Sgt. Covert and Ptl. Boronkas were the first arriving officers on the scene, followed by multiple police and paramedic units. Brick Police EMS, Brick Volunteer EMS and MONOC paramedics responded to the call as well as the Laurelton fire company. Members of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and Ocean County Sheriff's Department also investigated.
The accident left Route 70 closed in both directions between Burnt Tavern Road and Herbertsville Road for about three hours, Bedrosian said.
The investigation into the crash, being conducted by Bedrosian, Ptl. Jay Lampiasi and Ptl. Scott Dierking is ongoing. Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is being asked to contact the Brick Police Traffic Safety Unit at 732-262-1140.
It just makes me sick to read the commentors calling for these young people for hitting a pedestrian in the middle of a dark highway. Assuming they were texting just bc of their age also is just as bad as assuming somebody was black bc of a robbery or someone was a female bc of bad driving, etc - no need for that. If this was your kid, would you be calling for them to be locked away, this wasn't someone speeding down a cul de sac sidewalk, this was an after dark accident on a busy state highway.
I am not sure how you hit a car that is not moving. I attempted to get on to 70 after this happened it was still not completely dark out given the time, so I am really questioning what these drivers were doing while driving. As for if he had hazards on or a blinker -- sometimes when your car dies putting lights on is not an option if the battery happens to die, and that is the worst luck but this should be a message to be more observant when you are driving. I would not be able to live with my self knowing my ignorance and lack of paying attention aided in the death of another person.
I agree that for the first car to have hit a stalled out SUV in the middle of the road there must have been some severe negligence on the part of the driver. However, having read that the man was thrown 30' left towards the meridian, and that the first car that hit him came to rest PAST the SUV and the victim, I think it's highly probable that the girl who hit the victim was probably paying attention to the just recently wrecked vehicles on her right side of the road as she was passing them, never thinking that the victim would be 30' ahead in the road near the meridian. I don't know what the first driver who hit him was doing, but I suspect the second driver was probably more distracted by the recent wrecks on the side of the road than by anything else. Freak accidents happen, and it's a shame, but to blame everything on this girl is an injustice.
Last time you pushed your car off the road, did you get in front of it with no lights on and try pushing it.. backwards? to the shoulder from middle lane? without being able to steer it left or right? save your investigation for csi miami.. these kids were equally victims of this guys reckless and totally unsafe behavior. Did I mention he was also a truck driver for 17 years?
SAVE LIVES - KILL RELIGION
We must "always" remember.. "We are very "fragile" as humans in everyway and we "all" should always use the utmost caution and care with our car on the roads! My husband Marty and I send our most heart felt sympathies to the Cassano famlies and our sincere condolences to the other people involved who have to carry this tragic weight for a very long time to come! MJ Fletcher
I use to drive 35K+ miles a year,I have driven from ME to FL to MO & everywhere BW. I have seen drivers ticketed far more in "real states" than here in NJ & they have much much lower insurance, accident & death rates. Enforcement is the key.