Point Man Injured in Head-on Collision in Manchester

A Point Pleasant man was hospitalized Thursday night after being the apparent victim of a head-on collision on Route 70 in Manchester, police said.

Joseph Lacarrubba, 46, was transported to Kimball Medical Center in Lakewood after his pickup truck was struck at 7:23 p.m. by a car carrying five people, all of whom were injured, said Manchester police Capt. Lisa Parker.

The state highway was closed for more than five hours as authorities investigated the collision, which left the occupants of a 1995 Buick Century, including two children, hospitalized.

Parker said the Buick driven by Charles E. Flickinger, 28, of Bridsboro, Pa., crossed the center line of the roadway near Washington Avenue and collided with a 2010 Ford pickup truck driven by Lacarrubba.

Flickinger was transporting Rita Keller, 57, of Manchester, an 18-month-old female, 4-year-old male, and the children's mother, Linda Warbington, 33, Parker said. All were seated in the rear of the car, and both children were restrained in child seats when the crash occurred, police said.

Flickinger and Keller were transported by helicopter to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. The 4-year-old boy was taken to Kimball Medical Center while Warbington and the 18-month-old girl were transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River. All of Flickinger's passengers were later transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

Flickinger and the 4-year-old boy remain in critical condition with broken bones and internal injuries. The other passengers of the Buick were all listed in serious condition with "lacerations, bumps and bruises," police said. Lacarrubba was moved to Kimball after complaining of pain, Parker said.

The crash remains under investigation by Patrolmen Antonio Ellis and Paul Bachovichin of the  Traffic Safety Section.

Also responding to the scene were the Manchester Township and Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Departments, Manchester Township First Aid Squad and MONOC paramedics, the State Department of Transportation Diversion Team, the Ocean County Criminalistic Investigation Unit, the Ocean County Fatal Accident Support Team and Quality Medical Transport, police said.