The Ocean Township victim's name has not been released.
The three-vehicle collision took place on a rural road in Freehold Township at about 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 14, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.
At Siloam Road and Old Turkey Swamp Road, first responders found three vehicles involved in the collision: a Ford F350 pickup truck driven by a 53-year-old male resident of Little Egg Harbor Township, a Chrysler Pacifica minivan driven by a 42-year-old female resident of Ocean Township (Ocean County), and a Honda CR-V SUV driven by a 34-year-old male resident of Jackson Township, Linskey said.
The driver of the minivan was pronounced dead at the scene, and her 3-year-old child was transported via medical helicopter to Jersey Shore Regional Medical Center, where she remains in critical condition. The deceased woman’s other two children, ages 9 and 13, were also taken to Jersey Shore via ambulance for treatment of injuries not believed to be life-threatening, Linskey said.
The preliminary investigation has indicated that the pickup truck left the southbound lane of Siloam Road and struck the SUV with a glancing blow before colliding head-on with the minivan immediately thereafter, Linskey said.
Both surviving drivers remained at the scene.
The circumstances behind this matter remain under active investigation.
Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or has any information about it is urged to contact MCPO Detective Nicolas Logothetis at 800-533-7443 or Freehold Township Police Department Detective Lt. Joseph Winowski at 732-294-5139.
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