LACEY – Police have confirmed one injury resulted from a crash that occurred on Route 9 Tuesday morning.
Around 5:20 a.m., police, fire, and EMS responded to Route 9 in front of the Oyster Creek Power Plant for a crash involving a driver entrapped.
Lauren McLaughlin, 25, of Waretown, was extricated from her car by the Forked River Fire Department and airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center with suspected serious injuries. The second driver, James Aquilina, 54, of Manchester, did not suffer any apparent injuries, police said.
After investigating the crash, police said McLaughlin was driving a 2016 Nissan Sentra south on Route 9 when she possibly fell asleep and drifted into the northbound lane. A that time, Aquilina was traveling north on Route 9 in a 2014 Cadillac ATS.
Police said Aquilina saw McLaughlin enter his lane and he made evasive action into the southbound lane just as she re-entered her lane. As a result, the cars collided head-on in the southbound lane.
Route 9 was closed and detoured, from Beach Boulevard to the Ocean Township border for about 2 to 3 hours.
Police said McLaughlin has since been released from the hospital with minor injuries.
The collision remains under investigation by Officer Jason Lee. Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact Officer Lee at 609-693-6636 ext. 2536.
