On Thursday, November 29, 2018 at approximately 1:07 p.m., officers from the Manchester Township Police Department responded to the Dollar Tree store, located at 109 Lacey Road in the Whiting section of the Township for a report of a vehicle which had crashed into the building.
Upon arrival, officer’s observed a 2012 Lexus which had impacted the side of the building. The driver, identified as 71-year-old, John R Dzitko 2nd of Whiting was the single occupant of the vehicle.
The investigation revealed that prior the crash, the Lexus had been stopped in a handicapped parking space on the south side of the building with the vehicle’s engine in drive and running. While waiting for the driver’s acquaintance to return from the store, the vehicle accelerated forward, causing it to ride up the concrete curb and come to rest after colliding into the brick wall of the building. The collision caused extensive damage to the structure. A cashier who had been inside the store at the time sustained a neck injury as a result of attempting to avoid shelving which had been forced from the wall. The employee was transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River for evaluation of non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the vehicle was not injured.
The Manchester Township building inspector responded and determined that the store had to be closed due to the integrity of the structure being significantly compromised. Assisting at the scene were members of the Whiting First Aid, and the Whiting Volunteer Fire Department. This crash is being investigated by Patrolman Stephen Hankins of the Manchester Township Police Department Patrol Bureau.