Crash Shut Down Portion Of Route 9 In Bayville For Hours, Police Chief Says

Sections of Route 9 in Bayville were shut down both northbound and southbound for hours on Tuesday after a 1996 Pontiac Sunfire left the road and slammed into a Verizon utility pole, Police Chief Karin T. DiMichele said.

Fernando Resto was heading south at 10:24 a.m. when his car left the roadway and hit the pole. The impact heavily damaged the pole, leaving it leaning over the roadway, the chief said.

Resto's car came to rest in the southbound lane of Route 9. The car had major damage and both airbags deployed. Resto complained of chest pain and and was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, DiMichele said.

A witness told police that the car veered off the road, then struck the pole.

"It is unknown if the driver was in some type of medical distress at the time of the crash," the chief said.

JCP&L and Verizon responded to repair the utility pole. The Bayville Fire Company and the state Department of Transportation's emergency response unit assisted with traffic.

The crash is being investigated by Patrolman Michael Riccardelli, the chief said.