Easter Sunday Traffic Accident Spills Onto Westwood Golf Course

A traffic accident on Easter Sunday sent one woman to the hospital with minor injuries and wrecked a pair of shrubs on the Westwood Golf Course, where her vehicle came to a rest after striking another car.

According to West Deptford police, 47-year-old Sharon M. Trabold of Mantua was traveling west on Jessup Rd at 12:47 p.m. on March 31, when she swerved out of her lane into oncoming traffic.

Trabold’s blue 2002 Lincoln sideswiped a 2012 Kia operated by Carmela B. Minieri, 62, of Clifton Heights, PA, and then went off the road, traveling north towards the golf course.

“She didn’t go too far,” said Janet Bott, one of the owners of the Westwood pro shop. “She just took out two shrubs—maybe a 14-foot shrub, another that was about 8-foot.”

The real danger, Bott said, is that Trabold came within inches of striking a utility pole at speed, which would have meant a more serious injury.

“She grazed the pole,” Bott said. “There are scuff marks on the pole. If she had hit that pole, she’d have killed herself.”

Trabold was transported to Underwood Memorial Hospital in Woodbury with injuries that were deemed non-life-threatening. Minieri’s vehicle sustained damage on the driver’s side.

Trabold was issued vehicle summonses for failure to maintain her lane and careless driving.

The accident occurred in the stretch of road between Budd Blvd. and Kings Highway, and the roadway was closed for at least an hour, police estimate, while the scene was investigated.

Bott said that aside from vandalism and the occasional stray golf ball striking a car, there aren't too many traffic-related incidents at Westwood.