Ambulance, auto involved in crash

HOLMDEL -- Bethany Road was closed off on March 13 for approximately an hour and a half while a motor vehicle accident was being investigated.

At approximately 7 p.m., Holmdel Township police were dispatched to a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Bethany Road and Old Manor Road involving a Hazlet Township ambulance.

According to police, a Hazlet Township first-aid ambulance was traveling eastbound on Bethany Road, returning to Hazlet Township from Bayshore Community Hospital, when a 1995 Toyota Camry, driven by Christopher Hegarty, 19, of Middletown, struck it.

Hegarty was operating the vehicle westbound on Bethany Road and allegedly crossed the double-yellow center line, causing the accident.

Samuel Beatrice, the operator of the Hazlet ambulance, attempted to take evasive action to avoid a collision but was struck head-on, police reported. David Gergely, the EMT who was the front passenger in the ambulance, was transported to Bayshore Community Hospital after reporting severe leg pain. Hegarty was also transported to Bayshore after reporting chest pain.

Both vehicles were towed from the scene. Holmdel police were assisted at the scene by the Hazlet Police Department. Hegarty was issued a number of moving violations and the vehicle was found to be unregistered.