A man was killed in a one-car crash in Hamilton Township early Thursday morning.
Police were called to the scene on Millville Avenue, also known as Bears Head Road, before 3 a.m. A 24-year-old Bridgeton was traveling west when he drove into the shoulder and hit a tree around milepost 25.5, police said.
Photos by Alan Wright
"The sound of the car hitting the tree sounded like an explosion," said Alan Wright, a neighbor who ran to help.
The passenger, also from Bridgeton, was killed. It was his 26th birthday, according to officials on the scene.
"I was the first one there," Wright said. "He had no pulse."
He said the driver was unconscious when he got there.
"I got him awake and he crawled out saying he wasn't driving, and there was a third person," Wright said.
But there was no one else.
The driver also told Wright that the two men were brothers and were coming back from Atlantic City at the time of the crash.
Police are not releasing the names until next of kin have been notified.
Neither man was wearing a seat belt, according to the report.
Traffic was diverted around the area for approximately four hours while the accident was investigated and the scene was cleared of debris.
Police did not immediately comment on whether drugs or alcohol was involved. No further information is being released pending the investigation.
The Mays Landing and Laureldale fire departments, along with the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office assisted at the scene.
Anyone who witnessed the crash or has any information pertaining to this incident is urged to contact Detective Armitage or Officer Jacobi at 609-625-2700, ext. 1.
