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Police & Fire
Crews Battle 150-Acre Wildfire Across Ocean County (DEVELOPING) Crews Battle 150-Acre Wildfire Across Ocean County (DEVELOPING)
Crews Battle 150-Acre Wildfire Across Ocean County (Developing) Firefighters were battling a massive wildfire in Ocean County that broke out late Monday, Sept. 9, officials said. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service said the fire was burning near Fishers Pit, a sand and gravel pit in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township. The NJFFS first posted on Twitter about the wildfire at 7:30 p.m. Monday. As of Tuesday morning, the fire had been 20 percent contained to 150 acres, after spreading near Northern Boulevard in the Barnegat Pines neighborhood of Berkeley. "When firefighters arrived on scene initial attack efforts were unsuccessful due to erratic…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Sidewalk Pedestrian Airlifted After Being Struck By Man With History Of Careless Driving In NJ Sidewalk Pedestrian Airlifted After Being Struck By Man With History Of Careless Driving In NJ
Sidewalk Pedestrian Airlifted After Being Struck By Man With History Of Careless Driving In NJ A woman was flown to the hospital after a careless driver drove onto the sidewalk and struck her while she was walking her dog in an Ocean County town on Friday, Sept. 6, police said. Eugenio Carta of Berkeley Township was operating a 1999 Buick Sedan when he drove off the roadway, struck the victim walking her dog on the sidewalk, then came to rest after hitting a tree around 3 p.m. at the intersection on Doral Drive at Cohansey Drive, local police said. The woman suffered a head injury from the crash and was airlifted to Jersey Shore Medical Center where she was in critical but stable con…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Four-Year-Old Pulled From Jersey Shore Pool Dies On Labor Day, Investigators Say Four-Year-Old Pulled From Jersey Shore Pool Dies On Labor Day, Investigators Say
Four-Year-Old Pulled From Jersey Shore Pool Dies On Labor Day, Investigators Say A young boy died on Labor Day after he was pulled from an Ocean County swimming pool a few days earlier, authorities said. The four-year-old was pronounced dead at Jersey Shore University Medical Center on Monday, Sept. 2, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. Berkeley Township police responded to "an accidental submersion" at a home in South Seaside Park at around 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30. Paramedics performed CPR on the boy before he was rushed to the Neptune hospital.  The boy was originally listed in critical but stable…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Boater Struck By Propeller, Sucked Under Water: Police Jersey Shore Boater Struck By Propeller, Sucked Under Water: Police
Jersey Shore Boater Struck By Propeller, Sucked Under Water: Police A 59-year-old boater was hospitalized after being struck by the propeller of a boat after being ejected from his own and sucked under water in Ocean County over Labor Day Weekend, police said. The Neshanic Station man was heading east on Manahawkin Bay in Long Beach on a personal watercraft when his boat was struck by a 28-foot vessel heading north around 4:35 p.m., New Jersey State Police Sgt. Charles Marchan said. The boater was ejected from his boat upon impact and sucked underwater by the other vessel’s propulsion. The propellers of the vessel then struck the man, who was hospitali…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Boy, 4, Critical After Near-Drowning In Jersey Shore Swimming Pool: Police Boy, 4, Critical After Near-Drowning In Jersey Shore Swimming Pool: Police
Boy, 4, Critical After Near-Drowning In Jersey Shore Swimming Pool: Police A 4-year-old boy was in critical but stable condition after nearly drowning in a Jersey Shore swimming pool Friday, Aug. 30, authorities said. Berkeley Township Police responded to a home in South Seaside Park on a report that a boy had been removed from a swimming pool and found to unresponsive around 3:30 p.m., Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. Emergency life-saving techniques were performed on the child. He was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he is listed in critical but stable condition. The incident is under investigation by the Oce…

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by Cecilia Levine
Traffic
Bridge Over Manasquan River In South Jersey Closed For Emergency Repairs Bridge Over Manasquan River In South Jersey Closed For Emergency Repairs
Bridge Over Manasquan River In South Jersey Closed For Emergency Repairs A bridge connecting Monmouth and Ocean counties was closed after inspectors discovered it needed emergency repairs, officials said. The bridge on Allenwood-Lakewood Road over the Manasquan River in Wall Township was shut down to traffic on Thursday, Aug. 29, according to a Monmouth County news release. Bridge W-3 is located near Robert L. Brice Memorial Park and about a half-mile south of Atlantic Avenue in Allenwood. The county said a routine inspection uncovered problems with the bridge deck and engineers are evaluating how to quickly and safely reopen it. "Monmouth County is c…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Man Who Had 157 Cats At Home Indicted, Prosecutors Say Jersey Shore Man Who Had 157 Cats At Home Indicted, Prosecutors Say
Jersey Shore Man Who Had 157 Cats At Home Indicted, Prosecutors Say A Brick Township man was indicted after more than 150 cats were found in his home, authorities said. A grand jury indicted 56-year-old Jeffrey Finlay on Wednesday, Aug. 28 for 149 counts of animal cruelty, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. Finlay called Brick police to help remove the animals from his house on Thursday, May 4, 2023. Officers found about 157 cats and three dogs at the Mantoloking Road home. It took crews about 24 hours for the pets to be removed and brought to county animal facilities for treatment. Finlay was first charge…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
NJ Man, 39, Drowns In Delaware Water Gap NJ Man, 39, Drowns In Delaware Water Gap
NJ Man, 39, Drowns In Delaware Water Gap A New Jersey man's body was discovered in the Delaware River, authorities said. The 39-year-old Lakewood man was found dead in Bushkill, Pennsylvania, on Monday, Aug. 26, a National Park Service spokesperson said in a news release. His body was spotted about 20 to 30 feet from the shore at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Rangers and divers responded to the drowning call at Bushkill Access at around 1:45 p.m. The man's body was recovered in about seven feet of water at around 3:07 p.m. This is the second person of the summer to drown at th…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Monroe Township Man Among Two More Arrests In Jersey Shore Murder Plot, Prosecutors Say Monroe Township Man Among Two More Arrests In Jersey Shore Murder Plot, Prosecutors Say
Monroe Township Man Among Two More Arrests In Jersey Shore Murder Plot, Prosecutors Say Two more men were charged in a plot to shoot and kill another man in Jackson Township, authorities said. Noah Phelps of Monroe Township and Glenn Franzson of Jackson Township were arrested, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release on Tuesday, Aug. 20. The two were facing charges in the shooting on Thursday, June 27. Jackson police responded to the shooting report on Larsen Road at around 12:20 a.m. and officers found a 27-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his face. He was treated at Jersey Shore University Medical Center and released from the N…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Antisemitic Arsonist Sentenced For Rampage In South Jersey Neighborhood, Prosecutors Say Antisemitic Arsonist Sentenced For Rampage In South Jersey Neighborhood, Prosecutors Say
Antisemitic Arsonist Sentenced For Rampage In South Jersey Neighborhood, Prosecutors Say A Manchester Township man will spend several years in prison after admitting to an antisemitic crime spree, including arson and spray painting Nazi symbols on homes, authorities said. Ron Carr, 35, was sentenced on Friday, Aug. 16 to seven years in state prison, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. He pleaded guilty on Thursday, June 20 to arson, bias intimidation, and two counts of criminal mischief. Manchester police responded to vandalism reports at homes in Pine Lake Park at around 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Officers found 14 ho…

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by Chris Spiker
News
Rescuers, Coast Guard Helicopter Save Two Men Stuck On Jersey Shore Jetty Rescuers, Coast Guard Helicopter Save Two Men Stuck On Jersey Shore Jetty
Rescuers, Coast Guard Helicopter Save Two Men Stuck On Jersey Shore Jetty Two men were rescued after they were stuck at the end of a jetty in Ocean County, officials said. The men were found at the end of the south jetty at Barnegat Light State Park on Sunday, Aug. 18, Barnegat Light Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 said in a Facebook post. The fire company used two jetskis to respond, along with a helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard station in Barnegat Light. One Barnegat Light rescuer swam over to the rocks and helped the men up a jetty marker. A Coast Guard member was lowered from the helicopter to rescue the men. Multiple Station 13 and Barne…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
NJ Performing Arts High School Teacher Molested Female Student, Prosecutors Say NJ Performing Arts High School Teacher Molested Female Student, Prosecutors Say
NJ Performing Arts High School Teacher Molested Female Student, Prosecutors Say A former teacher at an Ocean County performing arts high school was accused of molesting a female student, authorities said. Douglas Bollinger, 56, of Neptune City, was charged on Monday, Aug. 12 with two counts each of endangering the welfare of a child and criminal sexual contact, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. Bollinger was a teacher at the Grunin Performing Arts Academy at Ocean County Vocational Technical School (OCVTS). The academy had 240 students as of September 2023 and offers high schoolers opportunities to take dual-credit co…

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by Chris Spiker