Community Corner
Palmer Township Man Killed in I-78 Crash in N.J.
72-year-old's vehicle was struck from behind; he was wearing seat belt but was ejected, police say.
A Palmer Township man who was ejected from his car even though he was wearing a seat belt was killed early today when his car was hit from behind on eastbound Intertstate 78 in Readington Township (Hunterdon County, NJ.). State police said the other driver was taken to the hospital for alcohol and drug testing.
Police identified the victim as Adolf Smith, 72. The crash happened around 3:29am, police said.
Smith's car, a 2006 burgundy Buick Rendezvous, was eastbound on I-78 along with a 2011 red Ford Escape when the Escape rear-ended Smith's vehicle, causing both cars to spin out of control, police said.
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Smith's car overturned and hit a tree. He was ejected from the vehicle, even though police say he was wearing a seat belt. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other driver, identified by police as Ryan Ricketts, 32, of Wheatley Heights (Suffolk County), N.Y., was not injured. His vehicle spun out of control but stopped in the middle of the road. He was taken to Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington, for alcohol and drug testing, police said.
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Ricketts has not been charged pending results of the testing as well as further investigation of the crash, police added.
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