Update On Investigation Into Downed Pole, Wires That Injured 2 On Jersey Shore Road

WALL, NJ — Following an accident involving a downed pole and live wires that trapped a driver in their vehicle and injured two on Route 138 Monday night, Wall Township Police said they have concluded their investigation into the incident.

In an update posted Wednesday evening, police said that after reviewing witness statements, NJ Department of Transportation video footage, and on-scene evidence, they have determined that the downed utility pole was not struck by a dump truck as some initial reports suggested, and was not struck by any vehicle.

In an email statement sent to Patch, Wall Police Lt. Steven Nash said the pole fell on its own without anything hitting it.

According to Nash, police have no report of weather issues at the time of the incident, and said it’s unknown at this time if the pole falling was a maintenance issue or just a failure of the pole.

“The Wall Township Police Department has concluded its investigation into the incident involving the downed utility pole on East Hurley Pond Road, which led to multiple vehicles striking live wires that had fallen across State Highway 138,” police said. “We thank the public for their patience and cooperation throughout the investigation.”

The incident on Route 138 occurred Monday night when Wall Township Emergency Services responded to the area for a report of a downed utility pole and live power lines across the road.

Once first responders arrived at the scene, they found live power lines spanning both the eastbound and westbound lanes of Route 138, with a portion of the line resting on top of an occupied vehicle, trapping the driver inside until utility crews could safely disable the line.

In addition to the trapped driver, police said multiple other vehicles drove into the low-hanging wires, resulting in cracked or shattered windshields. Two occupants reported minor injuries, with one person transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

According to Wall Police, a pole located on East Hurley Pond Road leading to Route 138 East was later discovered to be the probable initial cause of the outages and wires down.

As a safety precaution, police then closed both directions of Route 138, East Hurley Pond Road, and both Route 18 ramps leading onto Route 138.

Previous Coverage

• Sparking, Live Wires Trap Driver, Injures 2 On Jersey Shore Road