Motorcyclist Thrown From Bike, Critically Injured In Route 70 Crash In Manchester

MANCHESTER, NJ — A Manchester Township man was hospitalized in critical condition Friday after he was thrown from his motorcycle during a crash Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Timothy J. O’Connor, 69, was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune with serious injuries all over his body, Manchester Capt. Albert Vega said.

The crash happened shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Route 70 and Beckerville Road, he said.

O'Connor was riding a red 2022 Harley Davidson motorcycle was traveling west on Route 70 when a large passenger van that was headed west on Route 70 slowed down and moved into the shoulder to turn right onto Beckerville Road, Vega said.

As the van moved into the shoulder and slowed down, a silver 2021 Toyota Camry that was on Beckerville Road waiting to turn left to go east on Route 70 accelerated into the intersection, into the path of the motorcycle, he said.

The motorcycle hit the Camry in the side and O'Connor was thrown from the bike and wound up in the westbound travel lane of Route 70, he said.

The driver of the Toyota, Carlos I. Hernandez, 35, of Toms River, was not injured, Vega said.

Assisting at the scene were firefighters and EMTs from the Manchester Township Division of Emergency Medical Services, paramedics from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Life Flight.

Vega said the preliminary investigation shows failure to yield to oncoming traffic is the primary contributing factor in the crash. Patrolman Conner Yatauro of the department’s Traffic Safety Unit is investigating.